


The Lab Assistant: A New Enemy

by Kihonne



Series: Heroes in the Making: An Elite Force [4]
Category: Lab Rats (TV 2012)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Bionic Superhumans, F/M, High School, Season/Series 03, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-05
Updated: 2014-08-05
Packaged: 2020-01-05 20:49:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 131,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18373841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kihonne/pseuds/Kihonne
Summary: Marcus may be gone, but Douglas' new partner, Victor Krane, is an even more dangerous enemy that anything the Calla, Leo, and the Davenports have had to face before. Can they defeat him? Or will he find a way to destroy the Lab Rats once and for all? Based off of the original episodes of Lab Rats: Season Three, but will include other stuff as well.





	1. Sink or Swim

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own lab rats, or anything from the original TV show. I only own this story, Calla, Jaden, any other OCs present, and anything else you don't recognize.

** Calla's POV **

Three hours. That's how long we were trapped in that stupid elevator. Between Davenport's crying and the thought of Adam, Bree, and Chase alone and on the run, it was the three longest hours of my life.

"Hey Leo?" I stood up, getting an idea. The smaller boy stood up beside me.

"Yeah?" he asked. I smiled.

"Do you want to do something stupid?" I asked him, a gleam in my eyes. I'd seen this done in a movie once, so we should be able to do it, right? Leo shrugged.

"Will it get us out of here?" He asked. I nodded. "Then sure, why not?"

"Good." I bent down, my hands cupped. "You climb onto the roof of the elevator, and then pull me up."

Leo stared at me as if I was crazy, but did as I asked. When Leo helped me up onto the elevator, it was pitch black. I pulled out my cell phone and activated the flashlight app.

"Now what?" Leo asked, his curious face illuminating by my phone. I nodded at the sides of the shaft.

"There's got to be an emergency switch around here." I told him. "We just need to find it."

Leo nodded eagerly, and started climbing up the shaft. I followed him into the darkness. Thankfully, I wasn't afraid of heights.

"I think I found it!" Leo called. I shone the light at him and saw that he was pointing at two switches. "Which one do I hit?" he asked.

"Pick one and hope it doesn't kill us." I replied jokingly. Leo rolled his eyes.

"Helpful advice." He commented sarcastically. He chose on the switches and flipped it. A second later, the elevator started up. We climbed down into the elevator, landing next to Mr. Davenport with a thud.

"Nice work you two." He smiled at us as the elevator started to move upwards again. It stopped moving a few seconds later. I raised an eyebrow at them.

"Well?" Why weren't they moving? "Aren't you going to open the door for me? It's the gentleman thing to do."

"Yes, but why should we act like gentlemen if you aren't going to act ladylike?" Leo countered. I glared at him while he grinned back at me. He and Mr. Davenport pushed open the door. Tasha was waiting for us.

"Mom!" Leo exclaimed as he flew into her arms. Mr. Davenport hugged her tightly as I stepped out of the elevator.

"I was so worried." Tasha said, holding her family.

"I'm so glad you're okay." Mr. Davenport replied.

"How did you fix the elevator?" Tasha questioned. Mr. Davenport sighed.

"Well, it was incredibly difficult." He started. I snorted. He didn't do anything but cry. "But in the face of great adversity-"

"Calla and I shimmied up the shaft and flipped the emergency switch while he cried." Leo interrupted him.

"I coached them." Mr. Davenport said, then looked around. There was a relieved look on his face. "At least my sprinkler system put the fire out before it could spread to the rest of the house."

Tasha looked at him. "What about the lab?"

** Xxx **

I couldn't believe it. The lab was completely destroyed. Scraps metal was everywhere, most of it broken and covered in ash and soot. All of the inventions were destroyed, many of them scattered around us. The smell of smoke still hung in the air.

"It's worse than I thought." Mr. Davenport was distraught. And I didn't blame him. A number of my favourite memories had taken place in this lab and the thought of it being…well, gone, was terrible.

"The blast took out everything." Leo was shocked as well.

"It's all just…just gone." I shook my head.

"I can't believe your own brother would do this." Tasha said angrily to Mr. Davenport. "He could have killed you and Leo." I cleared my throat loudly. "And Calla." She added, having forgotten about me. I started to look around, to see if anything was salvageable.

"My Mission Specialist desk." Leo gasped. I turned to see him staring at a warped piece of metal surrounded by shattered glass. "Okay, this just got real. I'm going to hurt Douglas where he lives…as soon as I find out where he lives."

"Leo…" I started to call him back, but he leaned down and picked up what appeared to be a large, flat, black piece of junk. I did a double take when I realized what it was.

"Hey Calla?" Leo looked at me. "I uh, found your laptop."

I stared at it for a second, then looked at Leo. "I'm SO going to make Douglas play for that."

He smirked at the idea as we observed the rest of the lab. "Look at their capsules." We turned to see Mr. Davenport standing where Adam, Bree, and Chase's capsules used to be. "There's nothing left."

Suddenly, a thought occurred to me. I whipped my head towards the wall and saw the destroyed screen that used to belong to Eddy. I felt immediately sorry. I'd always hated Eddy, and secretly thought he was evil, but now he was dead. I guess I felt bad for the way I'd treated him.

"Even Eddy's gone." I commented, drawing everyone's attention.

"Yes!" Tasha grinned, then pretended to be upset when she saw that we were all staring at her. "Yes. He will be missed."

"He was my best friend." Mr. Davenport sighed. Tasha was surprised.

"I thought I was your best friend." She objected. He shook his head.

"No, it was him." He replied. Leo and I looked at each other.

"What are we going to do?" he asked. Mr. Davenport sighed.

"There's not much we can do." He admitted. "The house isn't even ours anymore."

Tasha nodded. "Speaking of which, the bank wants us out. I'll go gather what's left of our stuff." She offered. I frowned, turning to Leo and Mr. Davenport.

"I'm seriously questioning how nobody saw the giant explosion. I mean, come on! Don't you think someone would have at least called the fire department?" I asked, trying to lighten the mood. They ignored me.

"All your hard work, millions of dollars worth of equipment…gone." Leo sighed. Mr. Davenport turned to us, a determined look in his eyes.

"All this stuff can be replaced." He reminded us. "Adam, Bree, and Chase can't. We have to find them before Douglas does."

"How?" Leo questioned. "They disabled their GPS signals. They could be anywhere by now."

"We have to try." I told them, following Mr. Davenport to the elevator. "If we disappeared, they would never stop looking for us."

** Chase's POV **

"Are they gone?" Bree hissed in my ear. We were ducked down behind a box, waiting for all the crew members to leave. A few hours ago, we'd snuck on board as a means to escape the FBI.

"Yes." I whispered back a second later as I heard the door close. I followed my siblings out from behind the boxes, grimacing as I walked on stiff legs.

"Well, after the last six hours, I can confidently say there is no ladylike way to sit on an anchor." Bree complained. I rolled my eyes, plucking some feathers out of my hair.

"What are you complaining about? I had a seagull using my head as a nest." I snapped, tossing the feathers into the ocean.

"Where are we headed anyway?" Bree demanded. I shrugged.

"No idea." When I'd chosen the boat earlier, I had neglected to find out its destination. "I can't pinpoint our locations without our GPS locators."

Adam grinned. "I bet we're going to Acapulco." He said cheerfully. "That's where all the cruise ships go."

"Adam, this isn't a cruise ship. It's a cargo freighter." I explained.

"Well, whatever it is, we're on vacation, okay? I'm making the most out of it." He sat down on a pile of ropes as if they were a chair.

"This is not a vacation!" Bree snapped. "We're hiding from the FBI!"

"And if they find out about us, we'll become government guinea pigs and Mr. Davenport will go to jail." I told him. He rolled his eyes.

"Oh, will you relax?" he replied, making himself comfortable. "Nice to get away every once in a while, isn't it? And where is that waiter?"

I sighed and looked at Bree. "While the crew are below deck, we should try and find some food." I suggested. "We could be here for a while."

Bree nodded. "Right."

A few hours later and we'd found nothing. Crew members had popped up again from time to time, forcing us to hide behind a large pile of crates. I was on lookout, crouched near the top of the pile, when I saw the last of them all go below deck.

"Okay, we're all clear." I told Adam and Bree. "The crew just went to eat."

Adam looked up at me from where he sat on the ground. "If it's lobster, I'm giving us up." He announced as he started to get up. Bree called him back.

"So what's our plan?" she asked, turning to me. I sighed.

"Well, as soon as we get wherever we're going, I guess we just blend in and live normal lives." I said sadly.

"Wait, so does this mean we're done with missions forever?" Adam asked.

"We have to be. Using bionics will only get us caught." I replied. "Man, if I'm not mission leader anymore, then I don't know who I am."

Adam stood up and patted me on the back. "Hey, don't worry Chase." He told me. "You'll have plenty of girlfriendless years ahead of you to figure it out."

"Adam!" Bree scolded, but it was too late. I flinched at his words, my mind going directly to Calla. I could see her clearly in my mind. She was probably at her place right now, having dinner with her brother.

"What?" Adam demanded, turning to face Bree. "It's not as if he's going to find another Calla."

"Yeah, and what are you going to do, except move pianos and mouth-kiss every dog you see?" It was a weak retort, but I couldn't help it. The thought of never seeing Calla again hurt a lot. I briefly wondered what she thought of us leaving. Would she understand or would she be mad? Knowing her, it would likely be the latter.

"Chase?" Bree waved a hand in front of my face. I blinked. "You zoned out on us for a moment."

"Sorry." I apologized, getting back on the topic. "We're just going to have to start living like normal people." I told them. "Kinda sad, isn't it?"

"If by sad, you mean 'Awesome, I finally get to move far away from you two' then yes. Tragic." Bree replied, rolling her eyes.

"You can move wherever you want." I snapped at her. "We're still going to have to spend the rest of our lives looking over our shoulders."

"Don't be ridiculous, Chase!" Adam said. "They can attack us from the front too!"

I decided not to respond to that bit of stupidity. Suddenly, Adam gasped. "Hey look! I got a bite!" He exclaimed, rushing to a fishing rod leaning against the ship's railing. "Oh, it's a fighter!"

He started to reel in the fish. "Adam, what are you doing?" Bree demanded.

"Deep sea fishing! Come on baby! Come to daddy!" he exclaimed. I grinned. Finally, some food! But that grin wasn't on my face for long, because when Adam pulled the fish on board, it flew right at me. I hit the ground, trying to grab onto the struggling fish.

"They're coming! Hide!" Bree hissed to us as a door opened. I dropped the fish and followed my siblings behind the crates.

The captain walked out onto the deck. He picked up the fish with one hand. "The poor bugger must have jumped right on board." He decided, tossing it overboard. "I can't have a fish stinking up my ship, now can I? Be free!"

We glared at him from our hiding spot. There goes our dinner. I sighed as my stomach growled loudly.

** Calla's POV **

"Hey Leo!" I called, jogging into the school. He was pushing a cart with some old computer equipment on it. He smiled slightly when he saw me.

"Hey." He greeted. "Please tell me you have good news."

I shook my head. "Sorry. My guest room is currently being used for storage and there's no way we can move all the stuff." I apologized. "But if you're really that desperate, the couch is all yours."

"I might take you up on that offer." Leo said with a smile. I smirked.

"Hey, at least Jaden's coming by with some take-out later, so we won't get hungry." I told him. He frowned.

"We?" he repeated. I nodded.

"I'm gonna stay here all night if that's what it takes. And if this," I placed my hand on the computer "is all we have to find Adam, Bree, and Chase, then you're going to need all the help you can get."

"Thanks Calla." Leo started pushing the cart again. I ran ahead and held the door open.

"No problem." I stepped inside the gym after Leo. "Hey Mr. Davenport! Check out what we found!"

"I found it." Leo snapped. I smirked.

"Yes, but I held the door." I laughed. "Anyway, maybe we can use this to track Adam, Bree, and Chase's last GPS location."

Mr. Davenport looked at the computer cart. "Or judging by its age, the last location of King Tut." He said gloomily. We looked at him. "Sorry guys, I'm just frustrated. Without my stuff, without my lab…this is hopeless."

"Come on Mr. Davenport!" I exclaimed. "You're a tech titan! You built an empire out of nothing!"

Mr. Davenport sat down on one of the cots. "Yeah, but it was so hard!"

Leo sighed. "But you did it." Leo reminded him. "And if you put your mind to it, you can do anything. You're brilliant!"

Mr. Davenport stood up, his confidence restored. "You know what? You two are right. I am handsome and brilliant."

Leo frowned. "Hold on. I never…" I shook my head at him as Mr. Davenport started setting up the computer.

"He's back!" I grinned.

** Chase's POV **

"I'm so hungry!" Bree complained, leaning against the rail next to me. I nodded my agreement. None of us had eaten anything since breakfast, and it was now late in the afternoon.

"Hey, at least one good thing came from all of this." I said, trying to distract Bree. She frowned.

"And what's that?" She asked. I grinned.

"Haven't you always wanted to go sailing?" I questioned. She laughed just as Adam walked up behind us. He was carrying a large crate.

"Guys, we're in luck." He announced. Both Bree and I looked at him hopefully.

"You found food?" I gasped. Adam shook his head.

"Even better." He replied. He opened the crate to show us its contents. "A crate full of boomerangs."

We shook our heads at him. Bree turned to me. "If he should mysteriously disappear at sea, it was me." She said in a very serious tone.

Adam grinned and pulled out a few boomerangs. "Time for target practice." He threw them into the sky, then shot at them with his laser vision. He hit them all dead on, except for the last one. He accidently hit a seagull instead.

"Good news Chase, you don't have to worry about that seagull anymore." He chuckled. Bree grabbed him by the arm.

"Knock it off!" she ordered as he tossed another boomerang. "We're making too much noise and we all agreed that we weren't going to use bionics."

Suddenly, I noticed the boomerang coming at us out of the corner of my eye. We ducked just in time to avoid being hit, but the boomerang went right through the window on the door. Adam stood up first, gaping. "Whoa! It's like that boomerang came right back at us!"

We glared at him as the crew ran onto the deck. "Freeze!" The captain ordered. We all looked at each other worriedly. Crap. We'd gotten caught. "Call the coast guard." The captain told one of the crew members. "We've got ourselves some illegal stowaways."

"What are we going to do?" Bree hissed. Adam looked at us.

"Guys, I've got this." He turned back to the captain, a fake smile on his face. "Sir, we are not stowaways, we are cruisers. I'm Bob Dunwoody from Tampa, Florida. This is my wife Joan," He put his arm around Bree "and our lovely daughter, Piper."

I glared at him. "Adam!" I snapped.

"Not now Piper. The grown-ups are talking." He told me, turning back to the captain.

He was not amused in the least. "Look, I don't know who you are or how you got on my ship, but the coast guard's coming and they'll find out." He told us angrily. He turned to his crew members. "Keep an eye on these criminals."

We all stood there in awkward silence for a minute before Adam broke it. "So, where are you from?" he asked. Bree rolled her eyes.

"Adam! I can not believe you got us caught!" She exclaimed, staring at him.

"When the coast guard gets here, they're going to trace us back to Davenport and we'll be right back where we started with the FBI knocking on our door!" I shouted.

"Calm down! We'll just escape." Adam told me. Bree crossed her arms.

"We're in the middle of the ocean. Where are we going to go?" she demanded. Adam sighed.

"Well, we can't go home." He said after a moment. "Tampa's miserable this time of year."

Suddenly, there was a loud alarm. "Shh. Hold on." I hushed my siblings, listening in on the crew's conversation. "Something's wrong."

"Listen up men." The captain walked out of his office. "The coast guard's going to be a while. There's a submarine that lost control and is speeding towards the ocean floor. If it hits, it'll wipe out the entire crew. Poor guys." He sighed, then headed back up to his office. "Well, I've got to go up here and moisturize."

The coast guard was going to take a while. That was good thing. I felt bad for the people on the submarine, but there wasn't anything we could do. But the delay might give us enough time to escape.

"Okay, that bought us some time." I told Adam and Bree. "I'll scan the ship to see if there's a life raft we can escape on."

They both stared at me as if I was crazy. "Forget us. We have to rescue that sub." Bree exclaimed.

"We can't. I'd have to enable my GPS and if I did, it would give our location to the FBI." I objected.

"But it's what we do." Bree argued. I shook my head.

"It's what we used to do." I corrected. "Just let the coast guard handle it. We can't save the world anymore!"

Adam gave me a stern look. "Piper, do not take that tone with your mother."

I rolled my eyes at his attempt of a joke. I started scanning the ship for the life raft, but couldn't stop thinking about that submarine. Those poor people…

** Calla's POV **

"Here you go." I held the object in my hand out to Mr. Davenport. He looked at it, then at me.

"What is this?" he asked, completely confused. I frowned.

"You said you needed something to help power the computer." I answered. He nodded.

"Yes. And you brought me a toaster." He said matter-of-factly. I nodded.

"Well, yeah. It could be a power source." I replied. He raised an eyebrow. "I'll show you."

After attaching the cables and wires in the right spot, the computer lit up. Mr. Davenport stared at it in amazement just as Leo walked in.

"Principal Perry was hogging the internet in her office, so I snuck in and plugged in our wire instead." He informed us. "Turns out, she's a day trader for the Japanese stock market."

Mr. Davenport quickly accessed the internet and started tracking Adam, Bree, and Chase's GPS signals to their last known location. "That did it. We are now able to pinpoint their exact location when they turned off their GPS."

He looked at us. "You know, with my genius, Calla's ability to turn household appliances into power sources, and Leo's ability to follow wiring, we make a great team."

Leo and I smiled proudly as Principal Perry ran into the room. "Did you three snag my internet?" she demanded.

"Principal Perry, we just…" Leo started to explain, but she just pushed him out of the way.

"Get out of my way, gym-squatters. My online auction is about to close." She went back to her online auction, and grinned when the winner sign came up. "Whoo-hoo! I got it!"

"What did you win?" I asked curiously. She grinned.

"A slaughter house." She replied. I backed up a little, suddenly afraid. She turned to Mr. Davenport. "This stuff ain't cheap. Get me my money!"

She ran out of the room as we started typing again. After a moment, we were able to get their location. "Their last known location was at the port. They must have jumped on a ship."

Leo went through the port logs. "It says there were three freighters that left around the same time. They've got to be on one of them." Leo announced. I sighed.

"That's great and all, but how are we supposed to find them? Even if we knew which boat they were on, how are we going to get to it?" I questioned.

Mr. Davenport looked around with a grin. Then he grabbed me and Leo by the shoulders. "I have a secret." He whispered excitedly. "I have a helicopter I keep stashed away for special occasions and nobody knows about it!"

Leo and I looked at each other, smiling. "We have a secret too. We know." I told Mr. Davenport.

"We use it on weekends." Leo smiled nervously. "Last weekend we dumped a galleon of Adam's expired milk onto Trent's porch."

Mr. Davenport glared at us. "Oh, come on!" He ordered, rushing out the door with me and Leo on his heels.

** Chase's POV **

I sighed, twiddling my thumbs. We'd been sitting here for four whole hours now and no one had come to get us yet.

The captain walked over to us just then. "Good news. The coast guard's bringing another ship to arrest you. Well, good for us, bad for you." He chuckled. "I guess I should have just said bad news."

Bree looked at him. "Wait, what about the submarine?" she asked. He stopped laughing.

"It doesn't look good. It's tough being this close and realizing there's nothing anyone can do to help." He sighed and walked back over to his crew. Adam and Bree looked at me expectantly.

"Chase, we have to do something." Bree told me.

"Yeah, we're the only ones who can save them." Adam agreed. I sighed.

"You do realize that we'd be giving ourselves up? Our lives will be over." I reminded them.

"We have no choice!" Bree argued. "People are in trouble and I would rather rot in jail knowing that we did the right thing."

"Me too." Adam stood up. I sighed and stood up.

"Who am I kidding? Of course we have to help." I said. "Bree, how fast can you subdue the crew?"

"Look who you're talking to!" Bree exclaimed. "Fast is my middle name."

"Lucky!" Adam whined. "Mine's Charles."

I ignored him. "Adam, once I give you the coordinates, use your strength to repel yourself deep enough to reach the sub. Then you can divert it to the surface."

Adam nodded. "Got it. And you can boss people around like you usually do."

"I do not boss people around!" I snapped. "I lead. I'm a leader."

"Oh, yes you are." Adam started to make fun of me. "Aren't you?"

I slapped his hand away. "Come on!" Bree exclaimed before speeding towards the crew. She grabbed a rope, tied them all together, and then locked them below deck.

"Done." She announced. "Your turn!"

I nodded. "Alright. This is it. I'm activating my GPS." I focused, activated my bionics, and connected to a satellite. Quickly, I sent the sub's coordinates to Adam.

"Oh!" Adam laughed. "Got them!"

"Let's do this!" I said. Adam ran to the railing, but Bree stopped me.

"Wait. Chase, we've never trained for an underwater rescue mission." She reminded me.

"I know. We're just going to take our chances." I told her.

"CANONBALL!" Adam shouted, jumping into the water. We both ran to the rail.

"And right now, I'm not really liking our chances." I bit my lip nervously. This could go wrong very easily.

** Calla's POV **

I looked out over the ocean, searching for a boat. After searching the first ship top to bottom, we had gone out after the second one. Yawning tiredly, I checked my phone again. The time read 12:33 am.

"Well, that first ship was a bust." Leo commented from the front seat. "This is going to take us all night."

"Technically, it's already morning. But he has a point. There's got to be a faster way to do this." I said, looking at Mr. Davenport.

"At least we have the radio." He said optimistically. He pressed a few buttons and a voice came on over the speakers.

" _You're listening to another Donald Davenport audio book: How to Make A Billion Dollars."_  The voice said.

"Oh, we need to turn this up. You could use a refresher." Leo smirked, reaching for the dial. I laughed just as a beeping noise came from my phone. I checked it, then checked it again to make sure I wasn't just imagining it.

"It's Chase's GPS signal!" I exclaimed. "It's back on!"

"If they turned on their GPS signals, that means they're in trouble!" Mr. Davenport shouted. I leaned forward and programmed Chase's location into the onboard GPS. "Hang on guys!"

** Chase's POV **

"We can track the sub on our sonar scanner." I told Bree as a virtual computer screen appeared in front of us. It showed the submarine's position, along with Adam's.

"Okay Adam, it's five hundred feet away." I started the count down. "Four hundred. Three hundred. Two hundred. One hundred. Fifty."

Two seconds later, the submarine shot up onto the surface. "They're safe!" "Yes!" Bree and I cheered, hugging each other.

"You know, no matter what happens to us, it was worth it." Bree grinned. I nodded.

"Yeah. Mr. Davenport would be proud." I agreed.

We waited for a moment. "Hey, where's Adam?" Bree asked. I looked at her, then the water. "Adam?"

"Adam?" I called. Nothing. "Adam!"

A feeling of dread washed over me. How could I be so stupid! I should have sent him down there with some oxygen, but I was so caught up in the moment that I forgot. "He's been down there to long." I said. "No one can go that long without oxygen."

Bree looked at me, horrified. "This can't be happening." She said, tears in her eyes.

"I should have never sent him down there." I breathed. "It's all my fault."

I stared out at the water with Bree. How could I have let this happen? Some mission leader I was. Some brother too.

"What are we staring at?" A voice whispered. Bree and I spun around to see Adam standing behind us, soaking wet.

"ADAM!" Bree screamed, punching him. "WE THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD!"

"How did you survive so long without oxygen?" I demanded.

"By breathing underwater." He replied, sounding as if it was obvious. Bree and I looked at each other. Since when could he do that? "Wait, you guys can't?" Adam stopped, then turned to me. "Wait, you didn't know that and you sent me down there without any oxygen?!"

"Of course not!" "No! Congratulations buddy!" Bree and I lied, chuckling. Adam grinned as Bree ran and got him a towel.

"Well, I guess we're back to using our bionics for missions." She smiled as she tossed the towel to Adam. He sighed.

"Great, now it's a working vacation." He complained. "You just can't unplug anymore. I blame the internet."

I rolled my eyes. "Now it's time for our next mission. Finding a life raft and getting off this ship."

We ran to go find one, but stopped as the door to below deck flew open. The captain stood there, glaring at us. "Don't move!" he shouted.

I looked at Bree. "I thought you tied them up!"

"I said I could tie fast, not well." She replied guiltily. Suddenly, the sound of a chopper filled the air. We all looked up to see a helicopter flying directly above us. But it wasn't just any helicopter. Mr. Davenport was in the front seat, tossing a rope ladder down to us.

"It's Mr. Davenport!" Bree exclaimed.

"Quick! Climb on!" He ordered as the rope ladder hit the ground beside us. Bree looked at us.

"Later!" she called, speeding up the ladder. Adam pushed the crew back before running for the ladder, tossing his towel at me.

"Adam, wait!" I exclaimed as the ladder started to rise.

"You're not going anywhere!" The captain shouted at me. I threw the towel at him and ran, jumping onto the rope ladder. Just as I thought I was home free, the captain grabbed me by the leg, stopping me.

"Adam, help!" I called out. Adam looked down.

"Well, I know you're pathetically weak, but can't you at least try kicking free?" he demanded. I looked down and kicked the captain in the ribs. He stumbled back and the ladder began to rise again.

This time, he managed to grab hold of the ladder. Adam pulled me inside the helicopter and released the ladder. The captain fell into the ocean with a splash.

"Whoops." Adam said, looking down. "Hey, at least that shark broke his fall!"

I chuckled and smiled at my siblings. "It is so good to see you guys." Mr. Davenport said, looking over his shoulder. Adam patted him on the back.

I frowned. "Hey Mr. Davenport, where are Calla and Leo?" I asked. Shouldn't they be here? I couldn't really imagine them staying behind.

"Oh, they're waiting for us at one of my offshore facilities." He replied. "We're going to have to hide out there because the FBI is on our tails."

_ All because of us, _  I thought to myself. Mr. Davenport smiled at us.

"Relax. You're safe now." He assured us. We all nodded, making ourselves comfortable. I laid back, deciding to get some sleep. I smiled as I closed my eyes, unable to think about anything but the fact that I would get to see Calla again.

** Calla's POV **

"I don't get it. How can they not be here?" Mr. Davenport demanded. I frowned, checking my phone again. I'd lost Chase's signal a few minutes ago and I couldn't get it back.

We walked onto the deck and I immediately noticed a large, bald man with a towel wrapped around him. "Hey!" Leo exclaimed, running over to him. "We're looking for three kids, two guys and one girl. Have you seen them?"

The man glared at us. "Of course I've seen them."

"Well, where are they?" I demanded.

"They just got on a chopper." He informed us, looking directly at Mr. Davenport. "With you."

We backed away from the creepy man a bit. "With me?" Mr. Davenport repeated. Suddenly, I remembered something. Something terrible.

"Your cyber mask." I realized. Mr. Davenport and Leo looked at me. "It was stolen from your warehouse a couple of weeks ago, remember?"

"And we all know who would have stolen it." Leo nodded. I gulped. We were too late. Douglas had Adam, Bree, and Chase.

"What are we going to do?" I demanded. "We have no idea where they are, or where Douglas is taking them! They probably haven't even realized that they're in any danger yet!"

"Calla, calm down." Mr. Davenport told me. "Let's get back to the school, then we'll figure something out."

"But-" there had to be more that we could do!

"Calla, come on." Leo nodded to the helicopter. I sighed and followed him.

** Chase's POV **

Mr. Davenport led us down through the facility. It wasn't very big, or very welcoming, but it was better than the ship.

"So, this is where we'll be hiding from the FBI." Mr. Davenport announced, leaning against a desk. "What do you think?"

"I think we should update our tetanus shots." Bree replied. Mr. Davenport's smile fell slightly. I looked around, expecting Calla or Leo to pop out from behind one of the boxes. But they were no where to be found.

"Hey, where are Calla and Leo?" I asked. "I thought you said they would be here."

Mr. Davenport smiled. "Yeah, I kind of lied about that." He tapped his neck and his face seemed to glitch. Suddenly, it wasn't Mr. Davenport smiling at us. It was Douglas. I realized with a start that we'd been tricked by Mr. Davenport's cyber mask. We all stepped back. Douglas chuckled. "Guess who."

"Whoa!" Adam laughed, not realizing what was going on. "Awesome mask, Mr. Davenport!" he looked at us. "He looks just like his evil brother that captured us!"

We all looked at him. "That is his evil brother!" "And he did just capture us." We told him. Adam's smile fell as he turned to look at Douglas.

"Oh. Good one." He glared at him. "I did not see that coming."

Douglas shrugged. I looked at him. "I don't get it. I thought you were an ice cube in Mr. Davenport's warehouse. How did you get out?"

Douglas smirked. "I had a little help." He admitted.

"It doesn't matter!" Bree snapped, stepping forward. "We'll destroy this rat trap, just like the last one."

"Yeah, thanks for that. I didn't even have time to back up my music. Twenty years of up-tempo jazz, gone!"

I looked at him. "Yeah, well I know something else that's about to be gone."

Adam grinned. "Yeah. Let's get his reggae too."

I rolled my eyes at that. "Get him!" Bree shouted.

We ran at him. "Now!" Douglas shouted and a large man walked out from behind his computer. He was wearing a large black hoodie and a white face mask. He raised his hand, there was the sound of static, then nothing.

** Xxx **

"Wakey, wakey, eggs and baky." I woke to thee sound of Douglas' voice. I groaned, sitting up. Adam and Bree were waking up beside me. "Actually, it's just an expression. All we have to eat around here are nuts, berries, and the occasional barbequed iguana."

Adam stood up and glared at Douglas. "Taunting us with non-existent breakfast foods? You really are evil!" he exclaimed. "But I will take that barbequed iguana."

"Wait!" I jumped to my feet, Bree right behind me. "Who was that guy?" I demanded.

"Oh, that's right. You haven't been formerly introduced to my partner. Krane, come say hi to the kids!" Douglas called.

Adam frowned. "Wait, now we have three dads?" he asked. No one was about to waste their time explaining it to him.

Douglas' new partner walked into the room, wearing the same thing as before. "After I was booted from Davenport Industries, I needed cash to continue my research." Douglas explained. "Luckily, I found a billionaire who believed in me. Say hello to my colleague, benefactor, and all around bad guy, Victor Krane!"

Adam frowned. "Why's he wearing a mask?" he asked the question that was on all of our minds.

Krane pulled back his hood and removed the mask. I grimaced. Half of his face was covered in these weird looking scars.

"Dude, I have got to get you into a dermatologist." Douglas said, gesturing at the scars. Krane glared at him.

"What is that stuff all over your face?" Bree asked. Krane looked at us.

"You're no longer the only humans with bionics." He told us. Douglas sat down at the desk.

"Krane agreed to fund my work so long as I shared my research with him. He implants every piece of bionic technology I design to make himself more powerful." He explained.

I smirked. "Well, I hope he got a good personality, because what's on the outside, YIKES."

No one so much as smiled. "Enough!" Krane growled at us. He looked at Douglas. "Let's go. We have work to do."

He left the room without another word. Douglas grinned at us. "Isn't he cool?" he asked. We glared at him in response.

"You can bring out all the freaks you want. It's not going to keep us here." Bree told him. Douglas chuckled.

"I beg to differ." He replied, hitting some buttons on his keyboard. Suddenly, the ground beneath us lit up and two large metal hoops levitated off the ground. The spun around us like some sort of cage.

Adam grinned. "Cool! Giant ring toss!" he looked at Douglas. "I've got to give you credit. You're evil, but fun."

Douglas rolled his eyes. "They're titanium energy rings. They create an impenetrable force field that nothing can escape."

"I smell a challenge." Adam said in a sing-song voice. He tried to step outside the hoops, but jumped back when they electrocuted him.

"I smell burning flesh." Douglas said in the same tone as Adam.

"What do you want with us this time, Douglas?" Bree demanded. He shook his head.

"Oh no. I'm not falling for that. First I tell you my plan, then something goes wrong, then you use it against me! Not gonna happen!" Douglas shouted. Wow, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.

"It doesn't matter what you're planning. I'm sure that Mr. Davenport is looking for us already. He'll be here any minute to take us home."

Douglas chuckled. "Oh yeah. There's no place lie home." He picked his tablet off of the desk and walked over to us. "No seriously, there's no place like home. I blew it up."

He showed us a clip on the tablet. Fire was exploding from one side of the lab and quickly spreading across the room. We all stared at it in shock.

"You destroyed our lab?" Bree gasped.

"Yep. I hope you backed up your music libraries." He replied. I glared at him, thinking of Calla, Leo, and Mr. Davenport. If they were in there when the blast happened…if anything happened to them, I would kill Douglas myself.

** Calla's POV **

"You okay, Leo?" I asked, climbing out the of the helicopter. He groaned and shook his head, still looking a little green.

I smiled sympathetically at the younger boy and followed Mr. Davenport inside. He ran and hugged Tasha the minute he entered the house.

"Please don't text him to hurry home while we're in a helicopter." Leo asked her. "I left my lunch all over the Henderson's roof."

Tasha looked between us. "So what happened? Where are the kids?"

"Douglas got to them before we did." Mr. Davenport told her. She stared at him.

"Your brother again?" she demanded. He nodded. "Okay, you are done complaining about my mother."

Mr. Davenport sighed. "We have no idea where they are, but they're smart. They will figure out a way to escape." Leo and I looked at him. "Well, two of them will."

Tasha nodded. "I do have some good news. The FBI finished their investigation and proved you were cyber-hacked."

We all grinned. "So I'm getting all my money back?" Mr. Davenport was overjoyed. Tasha shook her head.

"No. All the money was stolen. You're still broke." She told him. Damn. There goes my pay check.

"But I'm getting all my stuff back, right? My boats, my cars, my planes?" Mr. Davenport grinned.

"Just the house." Tasha replied. His smile fell. "Everything else, including Davenport Industries is gone. But the good news is that now we can all move back in together."

Mr. Davenport stared at her. "Not even a jet ski, or a motorcycle with one wheel?" he asked. She ignored him.

"So what are you going to do about the kids?" She asked.

"Well, they're not going to come back here, because they still don't think it's safe." Leo sighed.

"I just wish we could send them a message or something. You know, to tell them that everything is alright." I spoke my thoughts aloud. Mr. Davenport thought about that.

"Well, the only thing I can do remotely is…update Chase's software. Wait, maybe that's it. Maybe I can imbed a cyber message into the update. All we need is a computer." He said, looking around.

"Got it." I said, pulling out my phone. I dialled Jaden's number. He picked up on the second ring.

" _Where have you been all night? I went to the school, and you weren't there."_  he demanded, sounding both angry and worried. He reminded me of Mom that time I forgot to tell her I was going over to Bree's.

"Mr. Davenport's helicopter, looking for Adam, Bree, and Chase." I replied.

" _Any luck?"_  Jaden asked, his attitude changing from angry to concerned.

"Nope. But we have an idea. But I need you to bring me some things." I told him.

" _Right. Give me a list."_  He replied.

"Mom's laptop. That's a must." I looked at everyone's tired faces. "And can you grab some coffee while you're at it? No one slept at all last night."

" _Right. I'll be right over."_  Jaden promised.

"Thanks bro." I hung up and looked at everyone. "Now we just have to wait."

** Chase's POV **

"I can't believe the lab is gone." Bree murmured, still shocked. She looked at Douglas. "That's our home!" she shouted.

"If anything happened to our family, I will end you." I promised him.

"Yeah!" Adam agreed. "And then we'll put your body in an old lady dress, so everyone laughs during your funeral!"

"Guys, guys. I understand you're mad. But what's done is done. So let's focus on moving forward together." Douglas suggested. "First order of business, what do you say we make Mondays family game night?"

Adam grinned. "This guy. Still evil, still fun." Douglas smirked and headed into the other room. I frowned. There was this weird, tingling sensation at the back of my neck, right where my bionic chip was. Was that a software update?

"Guys, something's happening to me. I'm getting a tingling sensation." I said, still frowned. Adam grinned.

"Aww. You hear that Bree? Pretty soon he'll have a baby moustache." Adam grinned. Bree laughed and wiggled her finger under my nose as if it was a moustache.

I slapped her hand away. "No! I just got a software update on my chip. That's really weird. Why would I just…" then it hit me. "Wait. Mr. Davenport must be trying to send us a message."

I activated my bionic computer and played the message for us all to see. It was from Mr. Davenport.

" _Guys, I know Douglas has you."_  He said.  _"Calla, Leo, and I are doing everything we can to find you, but if you can escape, come home. Perry's agreed to keep our bionic secret…"_  Mr. Davenport looked around, then started speaking to someone off camera.  _"Can we do that again? I just feel like this hologram makes me look fat."_

I shut down the message and looked at Adam and Bree. "They're okay!" I exclaimed.

Bree frowned. "Was he wearing guy-liner?" she asked. I ignored that.

"Now we just have to find away to get out of here." I muttered. Adam looked at me.

"What if I use my blast wave ability to destroy the rings?" he suggested. Bree and I looked at him as if he was crazy.

"Well, if you do that, you'll destroy the rings and everything around us. Including us." Bree informed him. He nodded.

"But we'll be free." He insisted. I took a deep breath.

"Here's an idea. How about we come up with a plan where we escape and survive?" I suggested. Adam sighed and let the matter drop. Bree looked at me.

"Wait a second. If these rings are titanium, can't you just use your magnetism app to repel them apart?" She asked.

"Douglas would expect that. Just like he would expect me to use my telekinesis to manipulate them." I muttered.

"So do both. He wouldn't expect that." Adam suggested. I shook my head.

"Adam, you can't use two abilities at the same time." I told him. Bree looked at me.

"Why not?" she asked.

"Because…I don't know." I admitted. "We've never tried it before!"

"Well, I say you try it now and if your head explodes, the survivors," he gestured to Bree and himself "will move onto plan B."

I sent him a glare. "Okay. I'll give it a try."

I looked at the rings. "Activating magnetism app." I announced. I didn't miss the fact that Adam and Bree stepped as far away from me as they could. I focused on the rings. "And telekinesis."

Pain shot through my head as I tried desperately to make the rings fly apart. "Focus Chase!" Adam hissed.

"When you tell me to focus, it makes me not focus!" I snapped. Head aches made me very irritable, and Adam talking wasn't going to help.

I turned back to the rings, activating both apps again. "You can do it." Bree whispered.

"STOP TALKING!" I shouted, not taking my eyes off the rings. The pain in my head was growing worse, and for a second I thought that Adam was right about my head exploding.

Just when I thought I couldn't take it anymore, the rings bent and I managed to make them fly across the room. "Way to go Chase!" Bree congratulated, her voice sounding far away.

"Oh man!" Adam's voice was also distant, and getting quieter by the second. "I thought for sure his head was going to explode!"

That was the last thing I heard before everything went dark.

** Douglas' POV **

"They escaped!" Krane growled upon seeing the broken rings and empty room. I, however, wasn't all that surprised.

"It doesn't matter." I said wit ha smile. "While they were knocked out, I reinstalled their Triton app. I'll finally be able to override their bionic infrastructure remotely."

Krane looked at me. "This better work." He told me. "I paid you a lot of money for your little Triton app."

I grinned. "Oh, it will work. Get ready, because you're about to find out what this Triton app can really do. Adam, Bree and Chase are completely under my control."

** Chase's POV **

I woke up in the back of a helicopter. Adam and Bree were in the front seats, the latter steering the machine.

"Guys?" My head was spinning. I sat up and placed my head in my hands.

"Oh look! He's not dead!" Adam exclaimed. Bree grinned.

"Thank god. Calla would have killed us." She muttered.

"What's going on? Where are we?" I demanded. "And since when can you fly a helicopter?"

"Um, you passed out, we stole Douglas' helicopter, and we're flying back home. And there's an instruction manual under the seat." Bree replied. I looked at her.

"It takes years to learn how to fly one of these." I told her. She shrugged.

"Well, I am a fast learner." She joked. "And we haven't crashed yet, so I think I'm doing okay."

I looked around. Bree seemed to be actually doing an okay job. She was going at a normal speed, which was unusual for her, and we were flying at an average height. "How long until we get home?" I asked. I saw Bree smile.

"We're here." She announced, hovering over the helicopter landing pad on Mr. Davenport's roof. "And it's a really good thing you woke up when you did."

"Why is that?" I asked. She laughed nervously.

"I have no idea how to land this thing." She replied. I rolled my eyes and showed her how land the helicopter. We then hopped out of it, and ran for the front door.

"You ready?" Bree asked us, her hand on the doorknob. Adam and I nodded and she opened the door.

"We're home!" Bree sang, peeking her head in. Mr. Davenport and Tasha were on the couch, Calla and Jaden were sitting at the counter sipping some coffee, and Leo was carrying a box into the kitchen.

"Well that didn't take long." Leo said with a smirk, putting the box down. We ran to give everyone a hug, even Jaden. I jogged over to Calla, who wasn't as pleased as I thought she would be.

"You're an idiot, you know that?" she told me, her arms crossed. I smiled sheepishly.

"Calla-" I began, but didn't get to finish because she threw herself at me, her lips crashing into mine.

"Seriously Chase. Don't do something like that to me again." She whispered, pulling away and burying her face in my shoulder.

I chuckled and kissed her on the forehead. "I missed you too." I murmured. She smiled and leaned in for another kiss.

"Are you guys okay?" Mr. Davenport demanded, looking at all of us. I let Calla go, taking her hand instead.

"We're fine." I assured him. "But Douglas has a new partner."

"Eh, I give it six months." Adam said. "The big one is super high maintenance."

He walked towards the kitchen, grabbing a coffee cup. "He's some crazy billionaire named Victor Krane and he's implanting himself with bionics." I explained.

"His face is really disturbing." Bree commented to Mr. Davenport. "I mean, he could definitely use some of your man make-up."

Mr. Davenport looked at her. "I do not wear…it's bronzer!" he objected. Bree, Calla, and Tasha all exchanged amused looks.

"Krane must be the guy who helped Douglas escape from your warehouse." Leo realized. Mr. Davenport frowned.

"I've never even heard of him, but I'm going to find out who he is and how to stop him." He promised us, running over to a laptop that sat on the kitchen counter. Tasha looked at us.

"You guys must be starving. I'll get dinner started." She offered. Bree followed her to the kitchen. Calla grinned.

"Finally. Everything's getting back to normal." She smiled, letting go of my hand. She kissed me once and headed over to help her brother unpack some dishes from a box. I started after her, but something stopped me. Three sinister words appeared on my onboard computer: Triton App Activated.

** Calla's POV **

"Then the lab blew up. Even my laptop was destroyed!" I exclaimed. I had been going over what happened to us while everyone was away. Adam and Bree had a lot of questions, but Chase was oddly quiet for some reason. I just shrugged it off. Maybe he was tired or something.

"And then we got trapped in the elevator." I continued. "Mr. Davenport confided his deepest secrets with us." Adam and Bree looked at me curiously. "Hiding you three in the basement, not even top ten."

Chase suddenly stood up and turned to me. I frowned. I'd looked into those eyes a million times, and never before had they been green. "Hey, what's up with your eyes?" I asked.

Chase grabbed me roughly by the arms and pinned me against a wall. I struggled in his grip. "Chase, you're hurting me." I told him. His grip tightened. "Letting go would be nice."

Adam and Bree stood up all of a sudden, but apparently I was the only one who noticed. Leo and Jaden were by the fridge, talking about what they wanted for dinner, while Tasha and Mr. Davenport were talking in the dining room. Adam walked over to Mr. Davenport and threw him into the wall.

"Adam, please don't throw him. You know how delicate your father is." Tasha scolded. Mr. Davenport looked at Adam, then at Chase who was still pinning me painfully to the wall.

"What's happening?" I demanded. Mr. Davenport's eyes lit up with realization.

"Douglas must have enabled their Triton app! Look at their eyes!" He shouted. "He's controlling them!"

I saw Bree turn to face Jaden and Leo. "Guys, watch out!" I shouted. They jumped out of the way just as Bree sped at them. She missed by half an inch and went flying over the counter.

"Hey, anyone want to explain why Bree's trying to kill us?" Jaden called. I sighed.

"Their evil dad brainwashed them!" I replied, explaining it without all the technical terms. Jaden gulped and backed up as Bree stood up and glared at him and Leo.

I looked at Chase with a nervous smile on my face. "You wouldn't really hurt me, would you?"

To my surprise, Chase let me go. For a second, I thought that maybe he wasn't under Douglas' control. Then he punch me in the face.

I fell backwards onto the ground, holding my cheek in surprise. Chase hit me. He actually hit me! Well, technically, it was Douglas who was making him do that, but that still didn't make the sudden pain any less shocking. "You know what? I'm just going to run now."

I scrambled to my feet, running as fast as I could. I ended up running into my brother. "Calla, are you okay?" he demanded, ducking as Adam shot a laser at him. I clutched his shirt and looked behind me. Chase was a little preoccupied, shooting a plasma ball at Leo.

"Oh, I'm fine." I replied sarcastically. "My boyfriend tries to kill me all the time. Move!"

Jaden and I jumped to the side as Bree ran at us. Suddenly, something grabbed my arm and pulled me backwards. I landed on the floor, looking up at Chase's unfamiliar dark green eyes.

"Um, hi." I jumped to my feet, narrowly avoiding a plasma ball. "Hey, can't you try and kill Leo? He's the annoying one!"

"I heard that!" Leo shouted from where he and Jaden were trying to dodge Bree's attacks. I backed away from Chase as he advanced on me.

"You know, normal couples solve their problems by talking things out. Or therapy. I could totally pay for therapy." Usually, if anyone had dared to hit me, I would have already tackled them to the ground in revenge. But this was Chase, and I couldn't hurt him.

From what I could see, it looked like Adam, Bree, and Chase had their own individual assignments. Adam was sending lasers at Tasha and Mr. Davenport, who were using kitchenware as shields. Bree was trying to take out Leo and my brother, both of whom were running out of steam quickly.

And of course, I had Chase all to myself. Under normal circumstances, I would be thrilled at the thought. Right now, I was honestly wondering if Douglas had ordered Chase to attack me out of spite. Suddenly, a blurry movement caught my eye.

"Leo, ground!" I shouted. Leo hit the ground just as Bree went sailing over his head. Leo sent Mr. Davenport a glare.

"Okay, you and your brother just need to hug this out!" He exclaimed as Mr. Davenport dodged one of Adam's lasers.

"Agreed!" "Leo's right!" Jaden and I called. I jumped back as Chase used his telekinesis to send a box at me.

"Okay, if you're not going to attack Leo, what about Adam?" I suggested, still backing up. "Adam, tell him he has a tiny, doll-like body!"

Adam, of course, was busy trying to kill Mr. Davenport and Bree. Suddenly, I hit the wall behind me. I gulped. There was a stack of boxes on either side of me, and my brain-washed boyfriend right ahead. I was trapped.

Chase lifted hand and a box lifted above my head. "No, no, no. Seriously, if you can just put that down over by the couch…" I pleaded.

"Calla!" Jaden shouted. Mr. Davenport, who had ducked behind the counter for safety, looked at me when he heard Jaden call my name.

"Chase, don't drop it!" He shouted. Chase looked at Mr. Davenport. "Listen to me. The Triton app only controls your bionics, not your human side. You have to fight it."

Chase's glare turned back to me, but I was already clinging to Mr. Davenport's words like a lifeline. "Yes, Chase. Remember all the great times we had? All the amazing inventions we built?" I searched my mind desperately. "The time Jaden caught us kissing on the porch and he attacked you with a Nerf gun?"

Mr. Davenport shook his head at me. I had to admit, not the best example I could have come up with. "Okay, not really that cool, but we were together!"

Chase started to slowly lower the box. "It's not working!" I cried out, staring at with wide, frightened eyes. That box was full of all the household appliances, like the toaster and microwave. If it fell on me…

"Calla, keep trying! It's our only chance!" Mr. Davenport shouted at me. I took a deep breath and looked at Chase.

"Chase, I was your first friend. I met you long before Leo did and I've always been there for you! Even when Adam and Bree were making fun of you because of your intelligence, I was right by your side, insulting them right back."

I could see a little conflict in Chase's eyes, but the box was still getting too close for comfort. "Chase, remember when we first met, all those years ago? Remember the first time we danced together?" I could feel the tears in my eyes. "Chase, don't you remember our first kiss?"

Chase hesitated. "Chase, try and remember!" Mr. Davenport yelled, ducking to avoid another laser.

I took a deep breath. "Chase, you've got to remember that kiss, at least! You and me, together, alone in the lab…" Chase looked conflicted again. I took a deep breath. "Chase, I know you can hear me. You mean everything to me, and I know I mean just as much to you. Come on Chase! I know my boyfriend's in there! Where is he Chase? Where's the boy that I fell in love with?"

Chase hesitated again, but didn't stop. I looked at him, suddenly sure that I could bring him back. I grabbed him by his shirt, pulled him towards me, and put as much passion and emotion into the kiss. I pulled away as second later, stepping back. "Come back to me, Chase. Please."

Suddenly, the box above me went flying across the room. Chase's hand dropped limply to his side. He stared at me for a moment with glazed eyes, before collapsing.

"Chase!" I exclaimed, rushing to his side. I tapped his cheeks a few times. "Come on Boy Wonder. It's time to wake up now."

** Chase's POV **

"Come on Boy Wonder. It's time to wake up now." I opened my eyes at the sound of Calla's voice. She was kneeling above me, tears in her eyes and a bruise forming on her cheek. I reached up and touched it softly.

"Who hit you?" I asked. She laughed, a sound of pure relief and wonder.

"He's okay." She called over her shoulder as she stood up, offering me her hand. I sat up and instantly regretted it as my head started throbbing painfully.

"My head is killing me." I complained.

"You can blame that on Douglas' Triton app." Calla explained. I frowned at her.

"What are you talking about?" I questioned. She stared at me as Mr. Davenport, Tasha, Leo, and Jaden ran over.

"You don't remember anything?" Mr. Davenport asked. I shook my head.

"No." I replied. Calla sighed.

"Well, that was a waste of the perfect dramatic romance moment." She muttered under her breath. Suddenly, Adam and Bree ran towards us. They stopped, staring at us with blank, green eyes.

"Bree?" I questioned, sensing that something was very wrong. "What's wrong with your eyes?"

"Douglas is controlling them! You have to fight back!" Mr. Davenport told me. I stared at him.

"I can't fight them! They're my-" I was interrupted when Adam sent a laser right at us. I pushed Calla out of the way and hit the wall as a searing pain struck my right side.

"Behind the couch, now!" Jaden ordered, pulling his sister with him. Everyone ducked behind it, just as Adam and Bree started to advance on me. Thinking quickly, I sent one of the large crates at Adam, slamming him into a wall.

He pushed it out of the way and sent another laser at me. I brought my shield up just in time to block it. Adam started to step closer, his laser intensifying. I grit my teeth, trying to keep the force field up.

"Adam's too strong!" I heard Mr. Davenport say to the other. "Chase can't hold out too much longer."

Like I really needed to be told that. I continued to back up as Adam's laser got stronger. I hit one of the stacks of boxes. "Ah!" There was no way I could do this for more than a few more minutes.

"Can't we do something?" Calla demanded. She started to stand up, but Jaden pulled her back down. Good. At least she wouldn't get herself hurt.

** Douglas's POV **

I watched as Adam got closer and closer to defeating Chase. His laser was at about half-strength, so when Chase's force field hit, he wouldn't be permanently damaged.

"Dial up his power." Krane ordered, glaring at the screen.

"But it's not safe. That could really damage him." I objected.

"Now!" Krane shouted, snatching the control device from my hands. I looked at him.

"You know there's a nicer way to say that." I told him. He glared at me as he increased Adam's power.

** Chase's POV **

I could feel Adam's laser vision grow in strength. "Adam, stop it!" "You're hurting him!" Leo and Calla were shouting, trying to convince them to knock it off.

"Can't you just talk them out of it, like Calla did with Chase?" Tasha demanded. Like Calla did with me? I would have to ask her about that later.

"There's no time!" Mr. Davenport replied. Leo's face lit up with an idea.

"Wait, if Douglas is controlling them, can't Chase do the same thing? He's got that override app that takes over their bionics in an emergency." Leo suggested. Not a bad idea.

"It's too dangerous!" Mr. Davenport shook his head. "He can't use two abilities at the same time!"

"No! I've done it before!" I shouted at them. Mr. Davenport looked at me in shock.

"Wait, why would you do that? It puts too much stress on your system! You're lucky to be alive!" He exclaimed. Calla looked at him.

"Hey, why don't you yell at him when he's not FIGHTING FOR HIS LIFE?!" She shouted. I glanced at them as Adam's laser got too strong.

"I've got no choice! I have to try!" I yelled, raising a hand to my forehead. I narrowed my eyes and focused, trying to ignore the furious pounding in my head.

"I believe in you Chase!" Leo exclaimed.

"STOP TALKING!" I shouted back.

"You can do it!" Calla called. I glared at Adam and Bree, trying to focus.

"Activating override app." I growled through clenched teeth. I focused on Bree first, and she hit the floor, unconscious. I felt a wave of dizziness spread over me and my force field weakened. At least I didn't pass out like last time.

"Hurry! Your force field is about to collapse!" Leo shouted.

"See, I told you, if he uses two abilities at the same time-" Mr. Davenport started, but was interrupted.

"Shut it!" Calla, Jaden, Leo, and Tasha shouted.

Taking a deep breath, I focused on my older brother. "Activating override app." I muttered. His laser stopped and he collapsed to the ground.

"Yes!" "He did it!" Everyone cheered. I ignored them, feeling myself sway. Suddenly, my arm was being wrapped around someone's shoulder.

"You okay?" Calla asked me, leading me to the couch while everyone else tried to wake Adam and Bree up. I nodded weakly, sitting down.

"Yeah, I'm okay." I assured her, pulling her into my arms. She smiled and kissed me. And it was as if everything around us melted away simply because we were together again.

** Douglas's POV **

"No!" I exclaimed, slamming my fists down on the desk. Krane looked at me, obviously not pleased. I gulped nervously. "Look, I can fix this. I'll just update the Triton app."

"Do it." Krane ordered, handing me the control device. "And when you're done, destroy Adam, Bree, and Chase."

I stared at him, surprised. "What?"

"You heard me, genius." Krane replied.

"But that was never part of my plan." I objected. Krane looked at me.

"Your plan?" he questioned, chuckling. "Your plan is done. We're going with my plan now."

Then he flipped the table across the room, my laptop going with it. I stared at him. How could he want me to destroy the kids?

** Calla's POV **

"Are you sure?" Mr. Davenport asked again. Adam, Bree, and Chase all nodded.

"We need to do this." "We're sure." "Please?" they replied. Mr. Davenport nodded.

"Alright. I'll show you the lab." He agreed. All of us, expect Jaden who was sent out to get pizza, stepped into the elevator. Mr. Davenport hit the button that would bring us down to the lab, then turned to face all of us.

"This Krane person seems extremely dangerous." He said. "With him and Douglas still out there, we're all going to have to watch our backs more than ever."

Bree looked at him. "Quick question: is anyone on your side of the family not a deranged maniac?"

I stifled a laugh, but Mr. Davenport ignored the question. Tasha looked at Adam, Bree, and Chase.

"Do you guys remember anything that happened when that Triton thingy was going?" she asked. Adam looked at her.

"Tasha, we just got home. What's with the third degree?" he asked. Tasha rolled her eyes.

I looked at Chase, but stopped myself before I asked him if he remembered anything. I wasn't sure if I wanted to know. Because if he DID remember everything, then he remembered the 'where's the boy I fell in love with' bit. And when I actually told him (as in, when I'm sure he'll remember it) I want it to be a little more special than that.

The elevator dinged as we hit the lab floor. Mr. Davenport looked at Adam, Bree, and Chase worriedly. "Guys, what you're about to see is pretty disturbing." He warned them. I felt Chase's grip on my hand tighten.

The doors opened to reveal the destroyed lab. They walked in slowly, taking in the wreckage.

"Wow." Bree murmured. Mr. Davenport sighed.

"The whole reason I built this place was to protect you and I couldn't even do that." He said. "I feel like I've failed you."

Adam smirked. "Well, I'm glad someone said it." He joked. Chase looked at Mr. Davenport.

"You didn't fail us. If you hadn't brought us together as a family and let us live like normal kids, we would never have been able to defeat the Triton app." Chase told him.

Mr. Davenport smiled and put his arms around Chase and Tasha. "Thanks guys." He said. "You're right. I am handsome, and brilliant."

Chase frowned. "I didn't…" Leo stopped him with a shake of his head.

"Let him go. It's how he goes." We all pulled in for a hug, which of course was interrupted by my very loud and annoying text alert. They all chuckled as I removed myself from the group hug to check my messages.

"Jaden's back with the pizza. One large meat lovers, one large pepperoni, and a small Hawaiian." I announced. Adam and Leo both grinned and bolted for the elevator, the rest of us trailing after them.

"I really missed you." Chase whispered in my ear, hugging me from behind. I smiled and leaned into his embrace. "I was afraid I was never going to see you again."

"Chase, please. It's going to take more than an ocean and a crazy billionaire to keep us apart." I laughed, turning around and leaning in for a kiss.


	2. Jet Wing

** Chase's POV **

"So, I've got ten bucks on electrocution." Calla commented, watching Mr. Davenport, Leo and Adam in amusement. They were trying to reactivate one of Mr. Davenport's broken inventions. I smirked.

"Ten bucks on a fire." I replied. Calla laughed lightly as Mr. Davenport reached for his screwdriver. He leaned in to adjust something and…

ZAP! "Ow!" Mr. Davenport jumped back, shaking his hand. Calla looked at me.

"That'll be ten bucks." She smirked. I rolled my eyes. She looked up at Mr. Davenport. "Was that last of the items?" she asked. He nodded, glaring at the junk hatefully.

"Great! Everything in the lab is officially useless and I don't have any money to repair it." He complained.

Leo looked at him. "I know my mom didn't marry you for your money, but I haven't been putting up with your antics for nothing."

Bree sat down at the counter while I went to grab some water from the fridge. "Mr. Davenport, take your time with the lab. We don't mind staying up here." She told him. "I mean, it won't make up for living in a basement for sixteen years, but it's a start."

Mr. Davenport rolled his eyes. "We don't have time." He snapped. "Your capsules have regenerative capabilities. They're crucial to your bionic infrastructure."

Adam frowned. "Huh?"

I rolled my eyes. "Let me help you." I offered. "CAPSULE GOOD!"

Adam nodded. "But I haven't been in my capsule all week and I feel fine." Bree objected.

"Well, it's only a matter of time before your bionics go haywire." Mr. Davenport said.

"Do you know when exactly?" Adam asked. "Because I have a hair appointment on Tuesday and if I glitch in the chair, I'm just going end up looking like that train wreck." He said, gesturing at me. I sighed in annoyance.

"Look, I get it! I'm short, I look like a lady golfer, and I've got a terrible haircut. What else have you got?" I demanded, glaring at him. He smirked.

"How long do you have?" he replied. Everyone laughed except for me and Calla. She looked at him sternly.

"Adam, I happen to like his hair." She scolded him. He sighed.

"Fine. He's a short, lady golfer with okay hair. Happy now?" he asked her. She smiled.

"Yep." She replied. Mr. Davenport rolled his eyes at that little exchange.

"Look, the longer you go without your capsules, the more likely you'll glitch. So, don't use your bionics until I get enough money to rebuild the lab." He ordered. Adam grinned.

"Uh-oh. I feel a glitch coming on." He announced before punching me in the arm.

"Ow!" I exclaimed, glaring at him. "You know what? I feel one coming on too." I snapped, pushing him off his seat. He got to his feet.

"Hey, it's not funny when your hurt me. It's just rude." He actually sounded hurt as he walked off into the other room. Seriously?

Calla chuckled. "I'll get him back in here." She offered. "Adam! Jessica sent you a text!" She called. Adam ran in and grabbed his phone.

"No she didn't." he frowned when he realized that he had no new messages. Calla frowned.

"Oh, sorry. She texted me. My bad." She lied, trying not to laugh. I smirked.

Mr. Davenport sighed. "Tasha!" he called. She walked into the room. "Okay everyone. Family meeting time."

We all sat down on the couch. Mr. Davenport looked at Calla, who hadn't moved. She smirked.

"It's so cute how you think I might actually leave." She replied. He rolled his eyes, but didn't complain about her staying. Adam raised a hand.

"Adam, you don't have to raise your hand to speak. Just talk." Mr. Davenport told him. Adam shook his head.

"No, I've got nothing to say. I'm just airing out my pits." He replied. Mr. Davenport frowned, but continued.

"Okay, the reason I've called this meeting is because we have to make some changes, starting with some cutbacks in the family budget." We all nodded. That made sense. "That includes losing our cell phones."

We all stared at him. "Did you not hear me?" Bree demanded. "I just moved out of a basement! I need this phone!"

"I don't get it. Why is this happening?" Adam asked. I sighed.

"PHONE GONE. WE POOR NOW." I explained. He nodded, understanding. Leo stood up.

"Guys, stop complaining. This is what you do for family. You make sacrifices." He reminded us. Mr. Davenport patted him on the back.

"This includes you too." He informed Leo. Leo stared at him.

"I barely know you people! I'm keeping my phone." He said, glaring at us in case we tried to object.

"Don't worry. Donald and I will be giving up our phones too." Tasha assured us. Mr. Davenport smiled at her.

"Well, you will." He commented. "Look, the sooner we get money, the sooner we can get back to our regular lives. But we need cash. Any ideas?"

"Win the lottery?" Calla suggested. Mr. Davenport looked at her. "What? It could happen."

"Hey, why don't you do a stunt, like that guy on TV did?" Leo asked. "You know, the one that made a lot of money for walking on a tight rope across the Grand Canyon?"

Adam grinned. "Ah. I see where you're going with this." He said. "We find that guy and rob him!"

We all looked at him. "Or, Big D could do a similar stunt." Leo said. Adam frowned.

"We can't rob Mr. Davenport. He's broke. Were you not listening?" Adam demanded. Mr. Davenport looked at Leo.

"That kind of stunt could attract a new sponsor that would have enough money for us to build a new lab. That's a great idea Leo." He grinned. Leo smiled.

"Just give me my cut when you get your money." He replied, sitting down next to Calla and I.

Mr. Davenport picked up his IPad. "I have been working on a prototype, fibre-glass, jet wing. It uses two micro-jet engines to allow a human being to fly like an airplane. Check it out." He explained, showing us a model. It looked very cool, and a stunt with that device would definitely attract a lot of attention. "This is it. I, Donald Davenport, will attempt the first ever jet wing flight over Mission Creek."

Tasha looked upset. "Oh, no." she said. "I am not letting my husband do something that dangerous-"

"You can host the paper-view webcast." He offered. Tasha smiled.

"Up, up and away!" she grinned. I looked at him.

"Are you sure about this? That thing hasn't even been tested." I warned him.

"I can't let my family suffer anymore." He replied. Bree looked at him.

"Then skip the jet wing and give us our phones back!" she snapped. Mr. Davenport rolled his eyes.

"Look, we need to find sponsors quickly though." He said. "Calla, that's your job."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Sir, I don't mean to be disrespectful or anything, but I don't work for free." She said. He looked at her.

"I can't afford to pay you right now Calla." He reminded her. She crossed her arms.

"I know." She replied. "So, I've got an idea."

"Let's hear it." Mr. Davenport sighed.

"I'll work for free until you get your money back." She offered. "But after that, I want a raise. A big raise."

"Deal." He agreed. She grinned and got up.

"Come on Dooley. I've got a few ideas where we can get sponsors." I frowned.

"And you can't get sponsors by yourself?" I asked. Calla smirked.

"Well, Leo's apparently really good at getting sponsors. Remember the school's save the school's Save The Gym campaign? He was the biggest donation collector." She replied. Leo grinned proudly.

"Four dollars and sixteen cents." He announced. I smirked, remembering how he had to beg his grandmother to get that money. Adam grinned.

"Yeah, we're getting out lab back!" he shouted, standing up with his arms in the air. We all high fived him, much to his confusion.

"What? No, guys. Again, just airing out the pits." He said. We all backed away.

** Bree's POV **

"Ughh. What could Principal Perry want now?" I grumbled as Adam and I walked into the gym. She'd called us at our house, very early, for us to come to the school. It had better be for a good reason. As we walked in I noticed that the gym was covered in streamers and garbage.

"Oh goody." She grinned upon seeing us. "Dirk and Widget are here."

I rolled my eyes. "What do you need us for on a Saturday that can't be done on a regular school day?" I questioned, getting right to the point.

"I need you to be my bionic servants."

I sighed. Exactly what I expected. "Oh, good. For a second there, I thought this was going to be a waste of our time."

"Hey, since your daddy can't pay me to keep your bionic secret, I'm getting my money's worth out of you two." She replied.

"Look, we're supposed to go watch our dad perform this big jet wing stunt today. He's been preparing for it all week." I told her. Hopefully, she'd let us go to see the stunt.

"Aww, I'm sorry." Principal Perry mocked us in a baby voice.

"This isn't fair!" I exclaimed.

"Yeah, well neither is paying for twelve donuts when you've only sucked the jelly out of one of them!" She snapped back. I glanced at Adam.

"Don't you have janitors to do this stuff for you?" He asked.

"Yeah, but they're at my house trying to make something look like an 'accident'." Principal Perry informed us. I tried not to think about what that something might be. "So I'm going to have you two do their work for them!"

"That's illegal." I pointed out. She grinned.

"So is being a robot." She hissed. Adam and I both sighed.

"We are not robots. We are bionic." I corrected.

"That's exactly what a robot would say." Principal Perry whispered in return.

I groaned in annoyance and crossed my arms. "Anyway," Principal Perry continued. "The gym is trashed after last night's basketball game and my midnight 'book club', so I'm going to need you two to clean it up before school on Monday morning."

Adam and I shared a look as she shoved a garbage bag into my hands. "Speed feet, you're on trash duty. Lurch, you're with me. There's something under the bleachers that I need dug up and reburied."

Adam grinned and followed her eagerly to the bleachers. I looked around at the gym. This was going to take all day!

** Chase's POV **

"Okay, have you double checked the ear pieces?" Calla asked. I nodded, handing one to her just as Mr. Davenport walked over.

"I still can't believe you two only managed to get one sponsor." He commented. Calla and Leo turned to him.

"You're lucky we got one! Do you have any idea how hard it is to get a sponsor for an old guy who thinks he can fly?" Leo demanded.

"The best you could do was Go Go Global Pack and Ship?" He questioned. Leo nodded.

"Yup. Now, you only get paid if you survive, but if you don't, they'll ship your remains to your home state for free. Hawaii and Alaska not included." He replied. "You're also obligated to say 'Go Go Global Pack And Ship' throughout your flight."

I chuckled. "It's going to be hard for him. He's not used to promoting anything but himself." I said to Calla. She laughed lightly, then checked the computer.

"Two minutes to launch." She announced, heading behind the control panel to help me with some last minute set ups. "So, do you really think he can do this?" She asked. I shrugged.

"Honestly, I have no idea." I replied. "Alright, you set the screens up and I'll get audio."

"On it." Calla sat down and started typing at the computer while Leo gave Mr. Davenport a pep talk. Tasha ran over a second later.

"Alright guys. We're about to start the webcast." She announced. "'Tasha Davenport presents: Look out Below, A Jet Wing Catastrophe'!"

Mr. Davenport paled slightly. "It's just for ratings!" Tasha assured him. Calla looked at me, suddenly alarmed.

"He's not going to vomit up there, is he? Because some people do that when they're nervous, and I don't have an umbrella…" She trailed off. I could see the amusement in her eyes.

"He's not going to be sick. I hope." I told her before turning to Mr. Davenport. "Your helmet cam is up and running. Calla and I will man mission control and queue you when it's time for you to release your parachute for landing."

"Okay." Mr. Davenport said, his voice small. Calla handed me a pair of head phones.

"Are you ready to roll, Big D?" Leo asked Mr. Davenport. He nodded.

"I can do this. I can do this." He said, pulling his helmet on. He gave us a little salute as the broadcast started.

"We wait with baited breath," Tasha said to the camera "as Donald Davenport, husband of witty yet fashionable reporter Tasha Davenport prepares to launch for the first ever Jet Wing flight across Mission Creek."

The cameras turned on Mr. Davenport. He smiled nervously and waved at them. Confetti cannons went off, and then he started to thanks everyone who showed up. Leo groaned.

"Why is he stalling?" He questioned. Calla smirked and held up a remote with a red button.

"He can stall all he likes. I've got the launch button." She reminded us. Leo looked at her.

"I thought I was going to get to press it!" He objected. Calla narrowed her eyes at him.

"If I'm going to do this all for free, I'm going to get to send my boss to his possible death." She stated before pushing the button. Mr. Davenport flew into the sky, screaming his head off.

" _Call_ a!" Mr. Davenport yelled. She smiled innocently.

"You're welcome." She replied.

** Bree's POV **

"And we're done!" Jaden announced, tossing his garbage bag onto the garbage pile.

"Thanks for coming when I called." I smiled at him. He shrugged as if it was no big deal.

"No problem." He replied, taking mine and throwing it on top of his.

"Okay, how many pounds of gun can one school possibly chew?" I demanded. Adam sighed.

"It's Saturday. I'm not doing math." He told us. Jaden smirked, but I knew that Adam wasn't kidding. Suddenly, Adam's arm started to spasm.

"Dude, what's up with your arm?" Jaden asked. Adam shrugged.

"Probably just a twitch." He replied. "I use my right arm a lot. It's my second favourite."

That 'twitch' then sent a plasma grenade at the nearby water fountain.

"See! This is what Mr. Davenport was talking about!" I exclaimed. Jaden frowned.

"He was talking about smoking water fountains?" He questioned. I rolled my eyes.

"No. When we don't sleep in our capsules, we glitch. Like Adam just did!" I explained quickly. Jaden looked worried.

"Oh crap." He muttered. "And I'm guessing that using your bionics all day wasn't a very good idea."

"Nope." I replied, glancing at Adam.

"Look, I'll be fine." He assured me. "Let's just go and watch Mr. Davenport's flight."

We started to leave but Principal Perry stopped us. "Nice work you three. And thanks for taking that water fountain out. I've been meaning to get a coin operated one before the next heat wave." She commended.

I sent her a fake smile. "Great. See you Monday."

"Freeze!" She stopped us. "You haven't gotten to my personal to-do list."

"Personal?" I repeated. "But Principal Perry, we've been using our bionics a lot today and Mr. Davenport wants us to-"

"Not my problem, pinky-man-boots." She interrupted. I glanced down at my boots. They weren't for men! "Now use your super speed to get me some fresh gaolie from Mexico."

I sighed and did as she asked. I was back seconds later, holding the bowl of gaolie. I handed it to her and she checked whether or not it was made in Mexico. She took a bite and then spit it out.

"Cilantro? I hate Cilantro! Take it back, andelai, andelai!"

"You keep it." I replied. Suddenly, I found myself running into the lockers. Adam and Jaden turned to me as I hit the floor. I sat up and looked at them.

"Okay. Either I just glitched, or these lockers are out to get me." I said as Jaden rushed over to help me up. Principal Perry ignored us and turned to Adam.

"Alright fire face. Years of using public showers have left me some very persistent toenail fungus. Use your laser vision to burn it off." She ordered.

"Aren't you afraid I might burn off a toe?" Adam asked, desperate to not do the job. She shrugged.

"Nah. I'm more worried about separating the fungus from the shoe."

** Chase's POV **

"How're you doing Big D?" Leo asked, about twenty minutes into the flight.

" _I don't know what I was worried about! This is awesome!"_  Mr. Davenport exclaimed. Calla cleared her throat.  _"But not as awesome as the low, low prices at Go Go Global Pack and Ship!"_

I grinned. "We are going to make a fortune." I told him. "Tons of people are tuning into the live webcast."

" _Of course they are. I'm amazing. But not as amazing as shipping your valuables with Go Go Global Pack and Ship."_

I sighed. He'd already advertised the company eight times, as he was supposed to, but it was starting to annoying.

" _Alright, enough coasting. It's time for some extreme free-styling. Get ready world because I'm going to slather up this stunt with some Davenport butter!"_

"Gross." Calla commented as he went higher and higher.

"Mr. Davenport, I wouldn't-"I tried to warn him, but he hit some turbulence. Suddenly, there was a beeping noise and an object fell from his belt. Unfortunately for him, that object was his parachute.

" _What was that?"_  He demanded.

I exchanged a look with Calla and Leo. "That was your parachute."

He started screaming. "Not to worry." I tried to calm him down. "You're fine for the moment. You'll just continue at jet speed…until your wings run out of jet fuel."

Leo put his hand over his microphone so that Mr. Davenport couldn't hear him. "What happens then?" It sounded like he already knew the answer, but just wanted confirmation.

"Then he'll crash." I replied in a light tone. Mr. Davenport started crying.

Tasha was suddenly cornered by her camera man. She walked over to us while we were trying to help Mr. Davenport. "…have exclusive access to Mission Control, where I'm sure they have everything under control."

A microphone was shoved in front of my face. Calla, Leo and I froze, staring at the camera. Calla, who was by far the best improviser, took the microphone.

"We're…we're mulling our options." She said vaguely. Tasha was not pleased by that answer. She covered the microphone with her hand and glared at Calla.

"Mulling your options?" She repeated angrily. "That is my husband up there!" Calla shrugged nervously.

" _Hello, someone needs to come up with an option fast because there is jet fuel leaking inside my flight suit."_  Mr. Davenport hesitated.  _"Nope. Not jet fuel."_

"Again I say gross." Calla muttered.

"This is all my fault. It was my idea to send him up there." Leo said.

"No argument here." "You should feel ashamed." Calla and I said at the same time. Leo stared at us.

"Mr. Davenport, we're just going to have to use our bion-" Calla put her hand over my mouth, eyes darting towards the camera. Leo turned to us, completely unaware that we were still on camera.

"Chase, you can't show the world your bion-" Calla's other hand covered Leo's mouth. She looked pleadingly at Tasha, who led the cameraman away. Calla removed her hands.

" _You three call Adam and Bree and get me out of the sky!"_ Mr. Davenport shouted.

"Well, we'd love to, but someone took away our cell phone service." Leo commented.

" _Really? Guilt? Now?"_  he demanded. " _Calla!"_

"I can't exactly call someone who doesn't have a phone." She replied. Leo pulled off his head set.

"I'll go get them." He offered. "Keep his hopes up."

Calla and I sat down as Leo ran off. Calla thought for a minute, then grinned. "Sir, if you, you know, die can I have all the plans for your prototypes? I mean, you won't have much use for them from beyond the grave, and there's no reason why I shouldn't be rich."

"Calla!" I exclaimed. "Leo said to keep his hopes up."

"Oh, right." She nodded, then repeated her question in a more cheerful tone.

** Bree's POV **

"AHHH!" Principal Perry ran out of the other room and ducked behind me and Jaden with Adam walking behind her. "Get away fro me freak! He keeps firing his lasers!"

I laughed. "Principal Perry, calm down. He's not attacking you!"

Adam accidently sent a laser our way. I ducked to avoid it. "Okay, he's attacking you."

Suddenly, Leo ran in. Principal Perry pushed me towards Adam, grabbed Jaden and Leo and started to use them as human shields. "Dooley, Parker, help. The machines are turning against us. We've got to get my cats and make for my bunker is Sacramento."

My bionics started to glitch again an I found myself slamming into various objects. "What's going on?" Leo demanded. Adam quickly caught him up to speed. I stumbled dizzily towards them.

"I am starting to think Mr. Davenport was right about our capsules." I mumbled as my legs buckled. Jaden caught me before I could hit the floor.

"Okay, everyone focus." Leo ordered. "There's an emergency. Big D needs you." He told us.

"Oh! That's good! Use them as bait so us humans can get away!" Principal Perry exclaimed. Leo sighed.

"They're not machines." He told her. "And Davenport needs their help, or he's a goner."

Principal Perry's eyes widened. "What? No! He can't be a goner! Don's my cash cow and I'm not done milking him yet! We've got to get there fast!" She ran at me and tried to climb onto my back. "Saddle up Bessie!"

I pushed her off. "Why don't we all just run?" I demanded, not waiting for an answer. We ran out the door, heading towards the Go Go Global Pack and Ship parking lot.

** Chase's POV **

"What the hell?" Calla said suddenly. I looked up to see a very strange sight. Adam was walking towards us, a metal tin over his eyes. Leo was pushing him along. Jaden was with them, carrying Bree piggyback style on his back.

"Should we even ask?" Calla questioned as they walked over to us. Leo sighed.

"Yeah, we have some serious problems." He informed us. "Adam's heat vision is glitching up, Bree's bouncing off the walls, and I saw Principal Perry's bare feet, and can I just say – AHHH!" He started clawing at his eyes. Calla frowned at Bree.

"So, why is Jaden your personal taki?" she question. Bree smirked, her arms wrapped around Jaden's neck.

"I can't run into inanimate objects if I'm not on the ground." She replied. I looked at Adam.

"What's on your face?" I demanded.

"It's a hub cap. It's the only thing I could find that would shield my heat vision." He explained. There was a zapping sound. "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!"

" _Guys, I can't keep circling above you. I'm almost out of fuel. What's the plan?"_  Mr. Davenport questioned.

"We're working on it." I told him before turning back to my siblings. "Leo, Calla and I have run through every possible scenario and they all end with a Donald Davenport memorial bridge."

Leo stared at me. "We can't just let him fall. Use your magnetism app!"

"I can't! The Jet Wing is made of fibre-glass, not metal." I reminded him.

'Well, we have to do something. The whole reason he did this ridiculous stunt was to get the lab back for you guys!"

"Leo's right." Bree agreed, still letting go of Jaden. "Mr. Davenport put his life on the line for us."

"Yeah. Plus he's our dad." Adam agreed. "Wait, technically, he's not our dad. Why are we here again?"

"Okay, well you guys are going to need to use your bionics. But not with all these people around." Jaden said. Leo nodded.

"I'll take care of this." Leo offered. He walked to the center of the parking lot. "Okay, attention! I'm going to need everyone to clear this space out immediately."

Nothing. Calla smirked. "Watch this." She whispered to me. She grabbed her chair and stood up on it. "Free snacks inside!"

Everyone rushed to get into the building. Calla sent Leo a cocky smirk and climbed down from the chair. Adam grinned.

"Hey guys! Good news; if he does crash, I found this adorable little tote bag that we can collect his pieces in." He held up the parachute that Mr. Davenport dropped. Leo, Calla and I stared at him.

"Adam, where'd you get that?" Leo questioned.

"I found it on the side of the road next to the hub cap." He replied. I snatched the parachute out of his hands.

"Adam, that's not a tote bag! That's the parachute that fell from Mr. Davenport's Jet Wing!" I snapped. I turned to Calla. "We've got to find a way to get this to him."

"Why don't you just give it to him when he lands?" Adam suggested. We all looked at him.

"Hey, why can't Adam use his strength to launch it back up to him?" Leo suggested. I grinned.

"Yes! I'll calculate the coordinates and guide his throw." I placed the tote bag in Adam's hand.

"Be on the lookout Mr. Davenport. One parachute coming your way." Calla told Mr. Davenport.

" _Copy that! I'm ready!"_  He replied. I pulled Adam's arm back and quickly calculated where it would need to go.

"Alright, here we go. Three…two…one!" We threw the parachute into the air. "Adam, great job. It's heading straight for him."

Adam grinned. "Cool! Let me see!" He lifted the hub cap off his face and a laser shot out of his eyes. It hit one of the Jet Wing's wings, knocking Mr. Davenport off course.

"Oops." Adam said guiltily. "I'm just going to pull this back down." He pulled the hub cap over his eyes. Meanwhile, Mr. Davenport was screaming again.

"Relax Mr. Davenport, I have a plan." I assured him.

" _If your plan was to be fatherless, it's working!"_  He snapped as Tasha ran over to us.

"Why aren't you saving him? Can't any of you fly?" She demanded. We shook our heads. "What do you do in that basement all day?"

Principal Perry ran up, gasping for breath. We ignored her. "I can try to use my telekinesis to slow his descent, but he's still going to hit too hard." I told them. Leo's face lit up with an idea.

"Wait, we are in the parking lot of a shipping store we can use cardboard boxes to break his fall!" He suggested.

"And tape." Adam added. "To put it back together!"

We all ignored him. "Let's go!" Jaden exclaimed, finally putting Bree back on the ground. They, along with Calla, Leo, Tasha and Principal Perry ran to get the boxes. I raised my hands to the air just as Mr. Davenport ran out of fuel.

"Mr. Davenport, try to aim for the crash pad." I told him, using my telekinesis to slow him down.

" _It's working! I'm slowing down."_  He exclaimed. " _I'm releasing the Jet Wing so it won't crush me on impact."_

"We're good to go." Bree told me as she, Leo, Jaden and Calla ran over to me. "The boxes are set up as a…"

"Something wrong?" Jaden asked as she trailed off. She looked worried, but I tried to ignore her. My head was already pounding and I did not need to add anything to that headache.

"I feel a glitch coming on!" She exclaimed. Jaden, thinking on his feet, grabbed a large cardboard box and covered Bree with it. He held it down as it shifted.

"I bet she looks stupid." Adam laughed. Jaden rolled his eyes and moved as Leo pushed Adam towards the box. He leaned against it, successfully holding Bree down.

"Chase, what's wrong?" Trust Calla to notice that I was struggling. I spared her a small glance.

"I think my bionics are glitching too." I replied, feeling the sweat pour down my face. Suddenly, I lost my telekinetic grip on Mr. Davenport.

" _What's happening? I'm free falling again!"_  He shouted as he fell through the air. I wiped the sweat off my brow and out my hands up again.

"Do something!" Leo shouted at me. I focused and regain my grip on Mr. Davenport.

" _It's working! I'm going to make it. I'm going to live."_  Mr. Davenport said as my vision started to blur. Once again, I lost my telekinetic grip.

" _Falling again! Not going to make it! My life is over!"_

"Damn it." I cussed under my breath, focusing harder.

" _What, no. I'm fine. I'm okay. I'm a goner!"_

I stumbled back, the world spinning around me. "I can't control him anymore." I murmured before blacking out. I woke up on the ground what was probably a minute later.

"Calla?" She was standing above me, blue eyes watching me with concern.

"You really need to stop fainting. Seriously, you miss all the good stuff." She commented, offering me a hand up. I took it and looked around. The pile of boxes was still up, and everyone was crowded in a small circle. I followed Calla over to the circle and found Mr. Davenport lying on top of Perry. Adam and I helped him up.

"Is he dead?" Principal Perry asked. I smiled.

"No." Thank god for that.

"Am I dead?" She asked. Leo frowned.

"Unclear, but just to be safe, we should probably proceed with a burial."


	3. Mission: Mission Creek High

** Chase's POV **

"Would you guys hurry up?" Calla exclaimed, running down the hallway with Leo hot on her heels. I couldn't help but laugh; her excitement was adorable.

But she wasn't the only one excited. Mr. Davenport was singing as we walked down the hall to the new lab. "I've got a new lab, I've got a new lab, I've got a new lab, I've got a new lab."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Bree stopped him. "I think you mean we got a new lab?"

Mr. Davenport smirked in amusement. "Excuse me, but did we pay to rebuild it?" He questioned.

"Do you sleep in a glass box?" Bree countered. He looked at her, then relented.

"We've got a new lab. We've got a new lab." He sang. We followed him up to the lab doors. Calla and Leo were both waiting for us, tapping their feet impatiently.

"You guys ready?" Leo asked, bouncing on the spot. I didn't blame him. We were all pretty excited.

"May I?" Calla asked Mr. Davenport. He nodded and she tapped in the security code. The hexagon shaped doors slid open to reveal our new lab.

The walls were white, with the exception of the occasional silver panel. The floor had these large, hexagon shaped tiles. Three capsules stood in the back, larger and more advanced than before, with a control console in front of them. We all looked around in amazement.

"Guys, look at all these upgrades!" I said in awe. "Mr. Davenport, this place is amazing."

He grinned. "Of course it is. I designed it."

Calla and Leo looked pointedly at him. "Ahem." Leo said loudly.

"Fine!" Mr. Davenport exclaimed. " _We_  designed it. We. We."

Both of them smirked proudly. Mr. Davenport sighed, then started to give us a bit of a tour. "Upgraded capsules, bam!" He shouted, pointing at the capsules. "Quantum processing super computer, bam! Four dimensional combat simulator, bam! This, my friends, is what a multimillion dollar make over looks like."

Adam grinned. "Is there a mini fridge?"

"No." Mr. Davenport replied. Adam glanced sideways at me.

"I bet our real dad's lab has a mini fridge." He commented. My smile fell. Did he really have to bring that up? Calla looked confused.

"I could have sworn I put one in here." She muttered.

"Calla, Leo?" Bree asked suddenly. "What happened to your workstations?"

Leo looked at Calla, as if for permission. She nodded and he took the IPad out of Mr. Davenport's hands. "This was children."

He led us over to the center of the room. He pressed a couple of buttons and two of the hexagon tiles, one on either side of the quantum super computer, dropped down. They slid back up to reveal two, brand new work stations.

"The floor in the lab is compartmentalized, meaning we can store things in it." Leo explained. He looked at Mr. Davenport. "May I?"

Mr. Davenport nodded. "Bam!" Leo exclaimed. Suddenly, something caught my eye.

"Is that a nuclear magnetic resident spectrometer?" I gasped, running over to the device. I stared at it, awestruck. "I've never seen one in person before! It's so beautiful!"

There was a moment of silence, then Adam had to ruin the moment. "Calla, you might have some competition."

Calla shrugged. "I'll worry about that after he starts making out with it." She replied. I stepped away from the device, my face burning with embarrassment.

Bree turned to Mr. Davenport. "How did you afford all this?" She asked.

"Well, I used some of the money from the Jet Wing stunt, but the rest of it I got from a huge government contract I just signed." He replied. "I am developing a rocket system to protect the earth from rogue asteroids. Thanks to this little baby, I am on my way back up rich man mountain and whoo! The air smells better up here!"

"Well, ignoring that, there is one downside to the new lab." Calla told us, walking over to her desk. Mr. Davenport gave her a stern look.

"It's not a downside." He told her. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Yes. Yes it is." She replied. She gave us all an apologetic look then tapped a button on her desk. A screen next to the lab doors lit up to reveal the face of evil.

"I'M BACK!" Eddy exclaimed. We all groaned. Not Eddy! "Hello friends! And I use the word friends loosely because you're not my friends and I hate you."

We all glared at Mr. Davenport. "Did you really have to bring Eddy back?" Bree demanded. I nodded in agreement, walking over to Eddy's screen.

"Yeah. I don't know if I'm okay with that." I growled.

"Well then you're definitely not going to be okay with this." Eddy replied. Before I could even ask what he was talking about, the ground gave way beneath me. I fell about ten feet, right into the compartments under the floor. I looked up to see everyone looking at me with amused smirks.

"Somebody, get me out of here!" I snapped. I heard them laugh and Calla disappeared from my line of vision. Slowly, the floor tile I was standing on started to rise. "Thank you." I said to Calla as I reached ground level. I sent a glare at Eddy's screen, but he was already gone.

Suddenly, there was a beeping sound. Calla frowned at her computer screen. "Oh crap. We're gonna be late." She told us, shoving the laptop in her school bag. We all raced to grab our bags and met her at the door.

"Hey, was that a new laptop?" I asked as we headed down the street. She nodded eagerly.

"Yeah, sort of a bonus present from Mr. Davenport." She reached into her bag and pulled out an envelope. "He also gave me my raise."

"Sweet!" I grinned. "What are you going to spend it on?"

"I don't know." Calla admitted. "Maybe some books. Or shoes. I need a new pair of shoes."

I nodded. "Oh, did Mr. Davenport tell you about The Call?" I asked. Calla nodded excitedly.

"Yes! Next week, right?" She confirmed.

"Yeah. He's bringing in an old friend of his, Zachary Lewis to help." I told her. "It's going to be the best Call yet."

"Totally." Calla grinned. "Oh, right! I almost forgot!"

She reached into her bag and pulled two slips of paper out. "Leo, I got those tickets you wanted."

"Sweet." Leo reached for them, but Calla held them out of his reach.

"My money." She reminded him. He sighed and pulled forty dollars out of his pocket. She accepted the cash and handed him the tickets.

"Enjoy." She said with a smile. I looked at her.

"What were those?" I asked.

"Oh, tickets to tonight's basketball game. Leo's trying to impress Janelle, so he wanted to take her." She replied.

"I thought they were sold out." I frowned. Calla nodded.

"Oh, they are. But Jaden's substituting for one of the players because he sprained his ankle, and he managed to get four tickets for free." She replied.

"So why did Leo have to pay you?" I asked. She smirked.

"Because I like to make a profit." She replied as we headed into the school parking lot. "By the way, the fourth ticket is for you if you want it. If not, I'm sure Bree will want to see Jaden play."

"I'll be there." I grinned at her. She smiled back.

"Hey, look!" Bree exclaimed. We glanced to where she was pointing. Someone was driving around the parking lot like a mad man.

"They've been doing donuts around the parking lot all morning." Jaden informed us, jogging over the second he saw us. Adam grinned.

"Finally. A good reason to come to school." He smiled. Suddenly, the car started driving towards us at high speed.

"Guys look out!" I shouted, pushing them to safety. The car continued going, only stopping when it hit two garbage cans. Principal Perry climbed out, looking really dizzy.

"What's up?" She greeted us with a smile. Leo looked at her.

"What are you doing?" he questioned.

"Pushing the envelope on this little baby's roll over specs." She replied.

"How did you afford this?" Adam asked.

"Your daddy gave me my first payment for keeping your little bionic secret." She replied. "So naturally, I went out and bought my dream car, a barrel of pudding and a life time supply of kitty litter. The fancy kind that clumps."

Bree smiled. "I think we have different definitions of fancy." She told Principal Perry. Principal Perry rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, I want to hear more about all this bionic stuff." She said. "What can you guys do? Can you guys recharge my cells phone?"

She started listing of several questions. We rolled our eyes and headed into the building. "Do you have vacuum attachments? Can you turn into wolves?" Principal Perry continued.

"Not yet." Adam replied. "But I did put that in the suggestion box."

Jaden looked at Bree, Calla and I. "I wasn't this bad, was I?" he asked. Calla nodded.

"Pretty much. But you kept asking if they were robots, and she seems to have realized that they're human." She replied. Principal Perry looked at us.

"Come on! There's got to be something you're not telling me. Spill! Give me, give me, give me, give me…" she started poking Adam in the chest. We all stared at her, slightly weirded out.

"She's not going to stop, is she?" Bree asked after a minute.

"What do you think?" Leo asked her. Principal Perry had started pulling on Adam's back pack at this point.

"Okay, okay!" Clearly, he'd had enough. "We use our bionics to go on missions!"

Principal Perry gasped. "Missions? I would be so good on missions. I can see it now…"

She trailed off, looking at the ceiling. We were all very glad that we couldn't see whatever she was seeing, because no one really wanted to know what went on in her head. But it started to get really creepy when she started petting an invisible cat.

"Stop, just stop." Leo said, drawing her out of her fantasy.

The bell rang and we started towards our classes. "So, when do we go on our first mission?" Principal Perry started pestering Bree. "Do I get nun chucks? I want nun chucks!"

"Good luck with that Bree!" Calla called, grabbing me by the hand and heading to our first period chemistry class.

"She's never going to leave us alone, is she?" I guessed, talking about Perry. Calla laughed.

"Probably not." She replied. "But come on, she can't be any worse than Jaden, right?"

I looked at her. "Okay, don't answer that." Calla said quickly. We both laughed.

** Leo's POV **

"Hey Janelle!" I called, running over to her. I'd been looking for her all day, but I had only managed to find her between fifth and sixth period. "Long time, no see. I was starting to think you were avoiding me."

Janelle laughed nervously. "Me? I would never…I've been avoiding you."

I looked at her for a moment, a little taken back. "Well, I'm glad we cleared that up."

"Look, I like you Leo, but every time we hang out, I get hurt by one of your stepdad's inventions." She said.

"That is not true. Name one-" She cut me off.

"The time you froze me in a block of ice, the time you electrocuted me and my hair was straight for six months, the time you zapped me and I could only speak Portuguese!"

I smirked, trying to think of a joke. "It sounds like someone should have started avoiding me a lot sooner."

Janelle started to walk away. "Wait, wait. Okay, this time there will be no inventions." I promised her. "I got us court side seats to tonight's State Championship Basketball Game."

"Wow. Those are hard to get." Janelle admitted. I smiled.

"Well, my brother's dating a girl, who knows a guy, who let me pay four times the value of the ticket." I told her. She smiled. "So? Is that a yes?"

"Sure, I'm in." Janelle replied.

"Yes!" I grinned, reaching for my locker door. "Just let me get your ticket."

There was a bang as I opened the door, and Janelle was holding her head in pain. "Oh…" There was a bump on her forehead. "Okay, in case that affected your memory, you already said yes."

Janelle gave me a look. I sighed. "Come on. I'll walk you to the nurse."

** Chase's POV **

"I'm exhausted!" I complained, walking into the house. "Perry's been nagging me all day about going on a mission. 'Ooh! Give me, give me, give me, give me!'"

Adam and Bree nodded in agreement as Principal Perry walked into the room, carrying a bag over her shoulder.. "What's up, mission buds?"

We stared at her. Now she was bothering us in our own home too? "What are you doing here? How did you get in our house!?" Bree demanded.

"I used the doggy door." Principal Perry replied.

"We don't have a doggy door." I informed her. She held up a saw.

"You do now!" She replied, dumping her bag and saw on the coffee table. "So, when are we going on our mission?"

"It's not like these things just happen every day." Bree said. Principal Perry shrugged.

"That's cool. I'll wait." She said.

"You can't stay here!" Bree argued. Principal Perry smirked.

"Au contraire, Cinderfrella. I can do whatever I want, and if that means waiting here for six months until a missions comes up, so be it." She sat down without another word, reaching for the TV remote.

She went straight to our DVR. "Delete all recordings?" she read. "Yes!"

We all gasped as our favourite shows were deleted. "I might as well get comfortable." Principal Perry said. "Do you kids want to help me with a perm?"

Adam grinned. "Sure!"

"No!" Bree exclaimed. Principal Perry got up and walked into the kitchen, heading towards the sink. Bree looked at us.

"This ends now." She told us.

"Well, what are we supposed to do?" I asked her. "It's not like we can take her on a real mission."

Bree's face lit up as she got an idea. "Well then let's take her on a fake one." She suggested. Adam and I considered her idea. "We'll blindfold her, say we're at some remote site, then just take her down to the lab."

"No, no!" I objected. "You know Mr. Davenport's rules! No outsiders in the lab! Ever."

"Who wants to help me with the hard to reach spots?" Principal Perry called. Bree looked at me.

"And I'm in." Anything had to be better than…that. Adam nodded his agreement.

** Leo's POV **

I watched as our team tan across the court, slamming the basketball into the net. Usually, I wasn't that big a fan of basketball, but tonight it was pretty cool. I smiled at Janelle, trying to ignore the bandage over the cut she'd gotten when I hit her with my locker door.

"Ah, classic. The old triangle-defence-power break with a little dribble-dribble-"

"You have no idea what you're talking about, do you?" Janelle guessed, amusement in her tone.

"Nope." I replied. "But these tickets cost me forty bucks so you could at least play along."

Janelle giggled. Suddenly, one of the basketball players ran straight at us, knocking her to the ground. "Janelle!" I exclaimed, jumping to my feet. "Are you alright?"

I helped her onto the seat next to me. She had her hand over her forehead. "Yeah, I think so. Does it look too bad?"

I couldn't help but scream in horror. But Janelle looked worried. "It looks great." I lied. "You look great."

"You see? I told you! Bad things happen to me when we're together." She whined.

"That is not true." I told her. I looked over my shoulder. "Anybody got an icepack?"

Of course, the ice pack just had to hit Janelle right in the face. I sent a glare at Calla, who had thrown it.

"I'll be right back." I told Janelle before running over to Calla.

"Are you trying to ruin things?" I asked. Calla shook her head.

"No. It was an accident, I swear." She promised me. I looked at her.

"What are you even doing here?" I asked. She shrugged.

"I got four tickets, and I invited Chase, but he couldn't come." She replied. I frowned.

"How come? It can't be homework – he's already a month ahead." I couldn't think of a reason why Chase wouldn't want to hang out with Calla. Calla smirked.

"Only a month ahead? That's sad." She laughed lightly, then pulled out her phone. "And he texted me this a few minutes before the game: Sorry, I can't come. Adam, Bree, and I are scheming against Perry."

We both looked at each other. "That's not going to end well." I said both our thoughts out loud.

** Chase's POV **

_ This isn't going to end well  _ I thought to myself as we led a blindfolded Principal Perry down to the lab. If Mr. Davenport found out, we'd be in so much trouble.

"Alright, here we are." Adam told Principal Perry as we led her into the room.

"Whoa. We got to the mission site fast." She grinned.

"Yeah, that's because we took a hyper loop." I lied. "It moves at the speed of sound."

"I know!" Principal Perry snapped. "This isn't my first teen spy mission."

We all looked at each other as she wandered blindly around the lab. "Why am I blindfolded?" she asked after a moment.

"Because we're bionic. Your human eyes can't take the radiation of the hyper loop." I explained. She frowned.

"What about the rest of my body?" She asked. Bree smirked.

"You're on your own with that." She commented. We all grinned and I removed the blindfold from Perry's eyes. She gasped upon seeing the lab.

"Where are we?" her voice was hushed. "Are we in space?"

She started walking around as if we were in a low gravity zone. "We're at an enemy base on the other side of the…" I snapped my fingers in front of her face to get her attention. "We're at an enemy base on the other side of world. We have to access their computers and download sensitive information."

She nodded. "Where' my uniform?" she asked, glancing at our mission suits. Adam supplied the lie this time.

"You don't get one." He told her. "The tailor says science hasn't caught up to that one yet."

Principal Perry was only offended for a minute before she started messing around again. She ran to Calla's desk and picked up a hand held energy blaster that she had been adjusting for earlier in the week. "So what do I do? If a bad guy shows up, I call dibs on wasting them."

"No, no, no." Bree ripped the laser from Perry's hands. "We don't waste people!"

I pushed Principal Perry towards the door. "Just stand guard." I ordered. She glared at me and pushed me off.

"Got it!" She snapped. "Don't worry. When they see me, they'll run.

"I don't doubt that." Bree replied with a smile. Perry walked over to Leo's desk and started messing with one of his paperweights.

"Look, look. Just sit-stop!" I slapped the paperweight out of her hands. "Sit down and stop touching stuff." I placed the paperweight down where she'd gotten it. I swear, this was worse than dealing with a misbehaving five year old.

"Hey, I'm on a mission now too and I don't have to take-"

"SIT DOWN!" We shouted, interrupting her midsentence.

"FINE!" She sat down at Leo's desk and started pouting.

We walked over to our capsules, making it look like we were doing important mission stuff. Suddenly, there was a zapping noise behind us. We all spun around to see Perry jump away from Leo's computer, and a knocked over juice box on his now sparking consol.

"What did you do? That's a brand new consol!" I exclaimed, running over.

"So what? It's not yours. Why do you care?" Principal Perry questioned.

"Because…" Leo would kill me if it was broken before he could use it "if we leave the place a mess, we're not better than we are."

Adam and Bree had snuck out to get some cleaning supplies while Principal Perry and I were talking. She turned away to go look around and I started to clean up her mess. There was a loud beeping noise from behind me.

"Hey, get away from there!" Adam exclaimed. I turned to see Perry trying to access Calla's computer. I ran over and pulled her away from it, then checked to see if she had damaged that too. Luckily, Calla had password protected her laptop, so it was fine. Perry must have put in the wrong password a couple of times.

"Oh! Live satellite feed." She said from behind me. I ignored her. "Let's pull up the school and see if the sheriffs are still looking for me."

A loud alarm went off. We all looked at her. "What was that?" Bree demanded. Perry backed away from the computer.

"I didn't do it." She replied. I ran over to see what she'd done now. The screen showed Mr. Davenport's mission defence, along with coordinates to the…school.

"Guys!" I hissed. Adam and Bree walked over. "She just activated Mr. Davenport's defence program and fired a rocket at Mission Creek High!"

Adam laughed. "Hey, what a coincidence. We go there." He chuckled.

"This is really bad." I told him. "That rocket's going to hit the school and the place is packed. Tonight is the state championship."

Bree looked horrified. "Isn't Jaden playing in the game tonight?"

I nodded. "Calla went to watch him and Leo brought Janelle there on a date." I replied.

Adam shook his head sadly. "Two disasters in one night. Poor Leo." He commented. Principal Perry looked at us, suspicion in her eyes.

"Principal Perry, we're not in an enemy base." Bree admitted. "We're actually in our lab, which is in the basement of our house."

"You tricked me?" Principal Perry demanded. "I hate being tricked! Do you know how many magicians I've made disappear?"

Suddenly, Eddy showed up. "Hey what's the deal with Senorita Sausage Paws?" He asked. Principal Perry spun around and glared at him. I had the feeling that those two would either be diabolical best friends, or arch enemies. Which one would be more terrifying, I wasn't sure.

"What is that?" Principal Perry asked, gesturing at Eddy.

"I'm Eddy, their smart home security system." He introduced himself.

"I'm Terry Perry, their principal, moral compass, and 1984 log splitting champion of Alberta, Canada, men's division." For some reason, she was proud of that.

Eddy laughed. "I thought I recognized the beard."

"It was a 'stache!" Perry threw herself at Eddy, only to be dragged back by Bree.

"Focus, focus!" She shouted, holding Perry still. "There's a rocket heading towards our school and we have to stop it."

Principal Perry was devastated. "No! Not the school! All of my wrestling equipment is in there!"

We all looked at her for a second, then went back to the rocket situation. "Guys, we only have four minutes until this thing hits." I informed them. "But everything in this lab has been redesigned. I can't figure out how to stop it."

Adam sighed. "This is the kind of crisis that calls for a chilled beverage." He commented. "Oh, wait."

Really? Was he seriously bringing up the mini fridge now? I went back to the computer, desperately tapping random buttons, hoping it would work. An alarm went off, and all the doors shut.

"What was that? What just happened?" Bree demanded.

"Your mission leader just put you on lock down." Eddy replied. "Now no one can get in or out. Well, except me. Later losers!"

Eddy disappeared without another word. I slammed my hand down on the consul in frustration. "We've got to call Calla and Leo so they can get everyone out of there!"

Bree exclaimed. She pulled out her phone and started dialling. She stopped, a frown on her face. "There's no service!" She exclaimed in despair.

"The lockdown must be blocking our cell phone signals." I decided.

"A multimillion dollar makeover and he couldn't install a landline?" Adam criticized. "Genius, my butt."

I sighed. What were we going to do?

** Leo's POV **

"Look who's back from the nurse's office." I greeted as Janelle walked back over to me, another bandage on her forehead. She frowned.

"Where's Calla? I thought I saw you talking to her." She asked. I shrugged.

"She got a message saying that someone was trying to hack her laptop. It was probably Adam trying to play one of her online video games." I replied. Janelle sat down beside me. "Thanks for staying and giving me another chance."

"I'm just waiting for my double vision to go away." She replied. Suddenly, a ball came our way.

"Look out!" I grabbed Janelle and pulled her out of the way. She sighed in relief as the guy next to us caught it. "See? You're safe with me."

The guy who caught the ball reached back to throw it, hitting Janelle in the nose. "Ow!" She said sharply to him before getting up. I followed her.

"Are you okay?" I demanded.

"Do I look okay?" she replied. "Forget your stepdad's technology, it's you. You're bad luck."

"I'm bad luck?" I repeated. "You're the one who keeps getting hit in the-" Janelle gave me a look. "Do you wanna go for a walk?" I suggested.

She shook her head. "I'm sorry Leo. I don't think we should hang out anymore."

She started to walk off. I stared after her. "Well, that came out of nowhere." I said, before running after her.

** Chase's POV **

I kept tapping buttons, praying to God that one of them would work. If that rocket hit, everyone in the school, including Calla, Jaden and Leo, would be killed. I couldn't let that happen.

"Man, I'm going to miss that school." Adam commented. "Well, I should get to bed. It's a school night."

I sighed. Suddenly, there was a rapid knocking on the lab door. "What's going on in there?"

"Finally! Mr. Davenport's here!" Bree exclaimed. There was more knocking. We ran towards the door, but Adam stopped us.

"Wait, it could be a trap." He warned us. The knocking stopped for a moment, only for it to start again, much harder.

"Adam, if you're playing Canyon Defence on my new laptop, I'm going to kill you!" A female voice exclaimed. A relieved smile came to my face.

"Calla, not now." Mr. Davenport snapped.

"Hey guys. Don't worry. Everything is fine." I lied.

"Of course it is." Mr. Davenport didn't believe me for a second. "That's why I got an alert on my phone that says the lab is on lock down."

Busted. "Wait, why didn't I get that alert?" Calla asked.

"If you didn't get an alert, why are you here?" Bree asked.

"I have my laptop set up so that if someone enters two incorrect passwords in a row, I get texted." Calla replied. Wow. She REALLY loved that laptop.

"What's going on?" Mr. Davenport ignored her. I gulped, knowing that we were dead.

"Well, you know you're rocket program?" I asked guiltily.

"Yes!" Mr. Davenport exclaimed.

"Perry may have accidently…" "sent one to hit the high school." Bree and I explained. Principal Perry gave us this look that said she was displeased with the fact that we mentioned her.

"Perry?" Mr. Davenport demanded.

"Hi Don." She replied, glaring at us.

"Nobody touch anything!" Mr. Davenport ordered. "I'm going to try and hack my way into my own security program."

A few seconds of silence. "It's not accepting any of the override commands." Calla said loudly, likely trying to keep us updated.

"Why did I have to build it so perfectly?" Mr. Davenport asked. Bree smirked.

"Wow. Even in a crisis, that ego does not quit." She commented. I couldn't help but agree.

I heard Mr. Davenport sigh. "Adam? Would you mind using your strength to destroy my brand new lab doors?" He sounded angry and frustrated. Never a good combination.

Adam backed up, ready to do as he asked, but Principal Perry pushed him out of the way. In her hands was the energy blaster. "Out of my way, Jumbo. I got this."

"NO!" "Yes!" We all shouted. The energy blast hit the door and rebounded off of it, sending Principal Perry back several feet. She stumbled into Calla's desk, hitting several buttons.

The lab doors opened and Mr. Davenport ran past us. "Wow! She opened it! Maybe we should add her to the team."

"No, just…no." Calla said, walking in. She looked at me. "What was that bit about missiles and our high school?

I quickly explained the situation to her. "I'm calling Jay." She muttered, pulling out her phone. "You guys help Davenport. And keep Perry away from my desk."

"Got it." We agreed.

** Leo's POV **

Man, tonight was not going well.

"Janelle! I am not bad luck!" I raced outside, following Janelle. She stopped walking, but didn't face me. She was staring into the sky.

"What's that fiery object hurtling towards us?" she asked. I looked up to see what appeared to be a rocket. Seriously? You've got to be kidding me!

"Shooting star." I replied. "Quick, make a wish. Mine is that we live for two more minutes."

Janelle looked at me, horrified.

** Chase's POV **

"We should be able to shut the rocket down from here." Mr. Davenport said. "I just have to switch everything to the satellite feed."

Principal Perry giggled. "Satellite feed."

Adam, Bree, and I looked at her. She was holding an icepack to her head. "Are you okay?" Bree asked. "You look weird…er than normal."

"Of course I'm okay." She replied, tossing the icepack onto a chair. She turned to Mr. Davenport and her dilated eyes widened. "Mr. Whiskers." She gasped. "Come to mama."

She started trying to hug/pet Mr. Davenport. "Get her off me. Get her off me." Mr. Davenport said. "How could you let her down here? You're all grounded. Forever. Times three. Times pi."

He looked back at the computer screen just as Calla ran back into the room. "The rocket's too close to it's target." He said. "I-I can't stop it from here."

"Chase, can't you stop it with you telekinesis?" Bree demanded. I shook my head.

"Not something that big travelling that fast." I replied.

"It's only three minutes from it's target. We have to evacuate the school." Mr. Davenport decided. He turned to Calla. "Tell your brother to evacuate the school now."

"No one's answering." She replied, eyes wide. "Their phones must be turned off."

Mr. Davenport looked at Adam and Bree. "Guys, go!"

"Is it too much to ask for a please?" Adam asked.

"GO!" Mr. Davenport shouted. Bree grabbed Adam's arm and they were gone, leaving me, Calla, and Mr. Davenport to watch from the monitor.

"Do you think they can do it?" Calla asked in a small voice. She was thinking of Jaden and Leo and every one of her friends inside that building. I pulled her into my arms.

"They have to." I whispered just as Principal Perry walked over. She started trying to give Mr. Davenport a belly rub.

"When did our lives get this weird?" Calla asked, momentarily distracted. I shrugged.

"I'm not entirely sure." I replied.

** Leo's POV **

"It's getting closer!" Janelle exclaimed. "What do we do?"

I had no ideas. "I don't think there's anything we can do." I admitted, hating the helplessness in my voice. Suddenly, Adam and Bree sped up behind Janelle. I stared at them for a second then looked back at Janelle. "Except, hide behind this thing."

We both ducked down behind the garbage can. I made sure Janelle couldn't see them, then watched Adam and Bree expectantly. I'd never seen them stop a rocket before. This should be interesting.

"There's only twenty seconds before the rocket hits!" Bree was saying. "There's no way we can get out in time."

"Don't worry. I have an idea." Adam assured her. Bree didn't look too reassured.

"What are you going to do?" She asked skeptically. "Throw a car at it?"

"No!" Adam snapped. "But that's way better than my idea. Let's do that."

He walked over and lifted Principal Perry's car above his head as if it weighed nothing. He threw it into the sky. It hurtled towards the rocket, both objects exploding upon impact.

I grinned at the fiery display. Cool. I waved slightly at Bree and Adam, giving them a thumbs up. They grinned and sped out of parking lot. "Whoa." I whispered, getting up. "Janelle, check it out."

She stood up, searching the sky for rockets. "I think we're safe." I told her.

"We made it." She breathed in relief. Suddenly, a flash of red caught my eye.

"Janelle, look out!" I yelled, dragging her into the corner. Principal Perry's bumper hit the ground right where we had been previously standing. Janelle stared at it in shock.

"Leo! You just saved my life!" She exclaimed.

"Well it's…I mean, you know…" I started to go for the modest approach, but then changed tactics. "It's what I do."

Janelle smiled. "Thank you." She said. "I guess you're not bad luck."

Just then, a white liquid, presumable pudding, fell from the sky and landed on her. She groaned in disgust. She wiped a little off her jacket and tasted it.

"I'm so glad that was only pudding." She said. We both laughed just as all of Principal Perry's cat litter fell onto Janelle's head. The pudding acted like glue and soon Janelle was covered in it.

I stared at the litter, surprised. "Oh, wow." I said. "Principal Perry was right. The litter does clump."

I reached out to touch it, but Janelle slapped my hand away. I smiled quality and she stormed inside. I was starting to get the feeling that I really was bad luck.

** Chase's POV **

"This pathetic." Calla laughed as we led Principal Perry into the lab. Once again she was blindfolded and under the impression that she was going on a mission. I held a finger to my lips, silencing Calla.

"So we're on an actual mission this time?" Principal Perry asked.

"No, we're going on a pancake run." I replied sarcastically.

"Yes!" Principal Perry didn't seem to notice the sarcasm.

"Calm down. I'm kidding." I told her. Her smile disappeared. Adam stepped up behind her.

"We're in dangerous enemy territory somewhere in a place called…New Labistan."

He raised his hand for a high five I refused to give him. Perry pulled off her blindfold and looked around. "Hey!" She exclaimed. "This looks just like the place we were at last time."

Bree smiled. "Really?" she asked."Does this look the same?"

She pressed a few buttons, and the floor tile beneath Principal Perry dropped. "AH!" She screamed.

We all laughed. "Hey, there's a mini fridge down here!" Perry called up. Adam was not pleased.

"Oh, come on!" He exclaimed.


	4. The New Girl

** Chase's POV **

"So, should we put the electromagnetic beam over here or over there?" Calla asked, looking around the lab. It was only Thursday and The Call was on Sunday but we were already getting ready. There was just so much to do.

"This one's fine." I placed the device down on the pedestal. She leaned over and adjusted it.

"Now it's fine." she corrected. I smirked and grabbed Mr. Davenport's IPad from her desk. I checked the last item off the list.

"…And that's it for today." I informed Calla. She nodded.

"Sweet. Now we can have some alone time." She smiled. I leaned in to kiss her, only to be interrupted by Leo. "Seriously?" She complained. We both glared at him.

"Don't look at me like that. I'm only down here because Mom kicked me off my video games." Leo objected. "So what are you doing, other than making out?"

"We were not making out." Calla told him. "And not just because you have terrible timing."

Leo sniggered. "So, are you guys setting up for The Call?"

Calla and I nodded. "We just finished up." I replied.

"It's going to be the best one yet." Calla grinned and sat down at her desk. She started typing things on her computer,

"So, who's this guy? Zachary Lewis or something?" Leo asked.

"Mr. Lewis is one of Mr. Davenport's best scientists." I replied. Calla nodded.

"He's a really cool guy." She mentioned. "I've worked with him a couple of times. I like him."

"Isn't he bringing his daughter?" Leo asked. Calla shrugged.

"I never met her, but I think her name's Sarah or something." She replied.

"It's Skylar, actually." I corrected. Both she and Leo looked at me.

"How do you know?" Calla asked. I shrugged.

"She applied for the lab assistant job before you, Calla." I explained. She frowned. "But hey, obviously the best person got the job."

Calla smirked and pecked me on the lips. "You're so sweet." she cooed.

"I know." I replied with a smirk. Calla laughed.

"You two are pathetic. Really pathetic." Leo told us. Calla stuck my tongue out at him.

"Jealous?" I teased, wrapping my girlfriend up in my arms. Leo rolled his eyes.

"Nope. You can keep that hot mess to yourself." He replied. Calla grabbed the tissue box off her desk and tossed it at him.

"Jerk!" She called. He laughed.

"No, seriously though. You two are so cute it's gross." He commented. I didn't mind. Let our cuteness be gross. It made him more likely to give us some us time.

"Well Leo, if you don't like our adorableness, you can always leave." Calla offered, gesturing at the door. Leo frowned.

"Wasn't there a rule about romance in the lab?" He asked.

"That was the old lab. This is a new lab with new rules." She replied. "Now leave."

Leo laughed. Calla raised an eyebrow at him. "I was serious." She told him. Leo looked offended and walked out. Calla turned back to me.

"Now, where were we?" She asked, leaning in.

** Calla's POV **

"I can't believe how much homework Mr. Bradley gave us!" Bree complained as we walked into the house. Chase and I smirked; we'd already finished all of ours.

"Guys!" Mr. Davenport was waiting for us, along with two people. One was an older man with short blonde hair, whom I recognized as Mr. Lewis. The other was a teenage girl with long, dark blonde hair and bright green eyes. She was fairly skinny too, with tan skin. She was one of those girls who could walk into a building and immediately be surrounded by boys. "I'd like to introduce you to my friend Zachary Lewis and his daughter Skylar."

"Hi." Skylar smiled at us. Mr. Lewis stepped forward and held out his hand to me. I shook it.

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Mr. Lewis." I greeted. He smiled.

"The pleasure is all mine. It's so refreshing to see such an ambitious and dedicated young person." He replied. I smiled at the praise. Chase smirked.

"I see why you like him." He whispered before shaking Mr. Lewis' hand. Skylar jumped off the couch and walked over to us. She was smiling brightly.

"Hi, I'm Skylar. It's nice to meet you." She greeted. We all introduced ourselves to her.

"Why don't you six hang out?" Mr. Davenport suggested, obviously wanting to talk business with Mr. Lewis. "You can show her the new lab, if you want."

"You guys got a new lab?" Skylar gasped, eyes shining. "You are SO showing me. Come on!"

She grabbed Chase's hand and started pulling him down at hall. The others followed after them. Chase led everyone down to the lab. Skylar looked around in amazement.

"This is amazing." She grinned. She gasped suddenly. "Is that a nuclear magnetic resident spectrometer?"

She ran over to the device, obviously surprised. I looked at the others. "Okay, I seriously don't get why it's so impressive. It's just a magnetic resident spectrometer."

Skylar and Chase looked at me. "No, it's a  _nuclear_  magnetic resident spectrometer." Skylar corrected. I rolled my eyes.

"I still don't get what the big deal is." I muttered, sitting down at my desk. Skylar looked away from the device. She looked at where Chase was working on Mr. Davenport's super computer.

"Hey, what are you doing?" she asked curiously, pulling up a chair and dragging it over to Chase. She looked over his shoulder at the screen. "Are you watching that Sharkman and Flipperboy?" She asked.

I groaned. That was seriously the most ridiculous show I'd ever heard of. Why Chase watched it was beyond me.

"Uh, yeah." Chase was surprised. "Do you watch it?"

"Hell yeah!" Skylar replied, smiling brightly. "It's my favourite show!"

"Seriously? It's mine too!" Chase exclaimed. "Calla thinks it's stupid."

"Why?" Skylar looked at me, completely bewildered. I shrugged.

"It's childish." I replied. Chase and Skylar started talking about the show, comparing characters and whatnot. I accessed my files, bringing up the prototypes for my new invention. It was my first invention, if you didn't count the incomplete bionic update.

I was checking it for flaws one last time. Usually I wasn't a perfectionist, but I was seriously paranoid that this would fail epically. But so far, the prototype had been working perfectly and had yet to catch fire, so I was pretty sure I was in the safe zone.

"Hey Chase?" I looked over my shoulder, about to ask him a question, when I stopped. He and Skylar were sitting shoulder to shoulder, laughing about something that he had said. She was leaning forward with interest, eyes glowing with entertainment.

I grit my teeth together, glaring at the two. I couldn't help but feel that it should be me sitting there with him, not her. I didn't like the girl at all, which was new for me since I usually gave people a chance. But the sight of them together just made me so annoyed.

"Chase!" I called again. He looked up.

"Yeah?" he asked. "What's up, Calla?"

"Can you help me with this?" I asked, tapping the chair next to me. "I want to make sure it won't glitch."

Chase rolled his eyes. "Calla, you must have tested it a hundred times. I'm sure it's fine." He assured me. I nodded.

"Please?" I asked. He started to get up, but just then Mr. Davenport and Mr. Lewis walked in.

"It's quite impressive." Mr. Lewis said, glancing around the lab. Mr. Davenport looked at everyone.

"Tasha's back and wants to talk to you four." He said. Everyone nodded and left, leaving me, Skylar, Mr. Lewis and Mr. Davenport alone. Mr. Davenport and Mr. Lewis went to check on the inventions, while Skylar and I sat in silence.

Eventually, Skylar looked at me. "Calla, right?" she asked. I nodded.

"Yep." I replied, typing something into my documents.

"I've got a question for you." Skylar continued. I wasn't really paying attention to her.

"Shoot." I mumbled, focusing on my work.

"Does Chase have a girlfriend?"

I stopped. Slowly, I turned around to face her. "Uh, yeah." I replied, feeling kind of insulted. Skylar frowned.

"Who?" she asked.

"Me." I replied, crossing my arms. Skylar looked surprised.

"Really, why?" she asked. I started at her.

"Excuse me?" I demanded, annoyed.

"Why?" Skylar repeated. "I mean, he could have anyone…"

She trailed off, but it was obvious what she meant. "Okay, rude much." I snapped. "And we're dating because we like each other."

"Sure." Skylar rolled her eyes and turned around in her chair. "By the way, were you two dating when you got the assistant job?"

"What?" I demanded.

She repeated her question. "I just want to know why I lost out on the job. And if you got it because Davenport's son liked you, then that's not really fair."

"I got the job long before I even met Chase." I snapped. She backed off a bit, seeing how upset I clearly was.

"Fine. Just asking." She said just as Chase and the others walked in.

"Just asking about what?" He asked, sitting down in his chair next to Skylar. Skylar smiled prettily at him.

"Nothing." She replied. I sent her a glare, then smiled at Chase.

"So, what did Tasha want?" I asked.

"Just to see what we wanted for dinner." He replied. "Did you talk to your mom about staying over?"

"Yeah. She said it's fine." I replied. Skylar grinned.

"Great. We're staying over to so that your dad can catch up with mine. We can all hang out together!" She grinned. I bit my lip, not liking the idea at all.

"Cool." "That sounds fun." "Sweet!" "I'm hungry!" The others replied. We all looked at Adam and his stomach growled.

"What? I told you that I was hungry." He defended himself. We chuckled.

"Come on then. My mom's ordering pizza." Leo told us, heading back towards the door. We all got up and followed them. Skylar started to walk beside Chase, but I cut in front of her, grabbing his hand tightly.

He frowned at the sudden pressure, but didn't say anything. Instead he kissed my forehead and returned the pressure. I sent a glare back at Skylar. This boy was mine, and there was no way I was going to let her have him.

** Chase's POV **

"Is there something wrong, Calla?" I asked as soon as we met up with her on Friday morning. Yesterday, she had seemed…clingy. I guess that's the word for it. She kept wanting to sit beside me and had been entirely dedicated to getting my one hundred percent focus ever since dinner. Not that I minded; I loved being with Calla, but it was just so unlike her.

"It's nothing." She replied, taking my hand. I noticed that she didn't hold it with the same iron grip that she had yesterday, although it was obvious that something was bothering her.

"Calla…" I tried again.

"I said it's nothing Chase." She snapped irritably. I backed off. She was probably just having a bad day. I shrugged.

"Alright then. Do you wanna do something after school? I'm sure Mr. Davenport won't mind if we head over to the Fro-Yo shop; we both deserve a break." I suggested. Calla smiled.

"Sure." She grinned, her mood lightening.

"So, what did you guys think of Skylar?" Leo asked. "She's smoking hot, right?"

"She's okay." Calla muttered. Adam and Leo stared at her.

"Okay? She was amazing!" Adam exclaimed. Leo nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, definitely model worthy." He agreed. Bree smiled.

"Well, I guess she's pretty. But she'd really cool too. She gave me a lot of fashion tips."

"Yeah, she's really nice. And smart." I added. Calla rolled her eyes.

"Not that smart." She objected.

"She new what a nuclear electro magnet thingy-ma-bob was and you didn't." Leo pointed out. Calla pulled away from me and crossed her arms.

"I knew what it was!" she snapped. "I just didn't really see what the big deal was."

"Guys, let's just calm down." I could tell that something was riding on Calla's nerves and I didn't want to have to break up an argument.

"Whatever." Calla muttered, clearly upset. I hugged her from behind.

"Just relax. It's really no big deal." I whispered in her ear. She sighed and took my hand again.

"Alright." She agreed. "Come on; we're gonna be late for school."

She started pulling me along the sidewalk. "Are you sure you're alright?" I asked. She nodded.

"Yes." She replied. "Anyway, did you look at the blueprints for my invention?"

"Yeah, they're pretty cool. And the prototype's working?" I asked. Calla nodded.

"Yeah, but Jaden hates it." She replied with a laugh. "He thinks it's annoying."

I chuckled. "Well, I'm sure it will go for a lot of money at The Call." I told her. She smiled proudly.

"Yeah, I can't wait!" She replied. "It's going to be awesome!"

Suddenly, my phone vibrated. I pulled it out and read the text. "Who's it from?" Calla asked curiously.

"Skylar." I replied. Calla's smile fell.

"What does she want now?" she questioned. I frowned.

"Wow, someone just got into a seriously bad mood." I teased. Calla didn't look amused. "And she just wanted to wish me a good day at school. Isn't that sweet of her?"

Calla sighed and shoved her hands into her pocket, clearly bothered by something. "I guess." She muttered. I smiled at her.

"So, do you want to head over to the fro-yo store right after school, or do you want to drop our stuff off at home first?" I asked, trying to lighten her mood. It worked.

"Let's go right away. We'll drop our stuff off later." She told me, taking my hand again.

** Calla's POV **

"Honey, we're home!" I joked as Chase and I walked into his house. We each carried a tray of fro-yo cones in our hands. "We brought treats!"

Leo and Adam stampeded each other trying to get to the fro-yo. Chase and I both laughed, holding the trays above our heads. That of course didn't stop Adam from stealing two of them.

"Are you going to eat both of those?" Chase asked. Adam didn't answer, instead he just shoved both cones into his mouth.

"Oh come on! I want one!" Leo complained. I sighed and handed him one before hanging my jacket on the coat hanger.

"I swear you two act like children most of the time." I muttered. Leo smirked.

"As long as I get my fro-yo, I don't care what you call me." He said, walking away. He stopped by the stairs. "Oh yeah. Skylar and Bree are in the lab."

"Wonderful." I muttered. I followed Chase down towards the lab and saw both girls sitting at my computer.

"Hey, what are you doing?" I demanded, pushing them away. Everyone looked at me. "I don't like people touching my stuff."

"I was just showing her your invention prototypes." Bree said, still a little surprised that I snapped at her like that. Skylar nodded.

"It looks pretty cool." Skylar said. "So, you're calling it the IQ Alarm Clock?"

I nodded stiffly. "Yeah. In order to turn the alarm off, you have to answer a multiple choice question. It makes sure that you actually get up in the morning rather than falling back asleep."

"It sounds pretty cool." Skylar said again. She glanced at the fro-yo cones. "Oh, are those for us?"

"Yeah, here you go." Chase handed her and Bree each a cone from his tray. I handed him one from mine and took the last one for myself.

"Sorry for going on your computer without asking, Calla." Bree apologized. "I didn't realize you would be so upset."

I shrugged, starting to calm down. "I overreacted. It's fine." I replied.

Skylar looked at Chase, a smile on her face. "So, did you hear about that new movie?"

"What new movie?" Chase asked. Skylar pushed her chair over to Mr. Davenport's super computer and patted the seat next to her. Chase sat down there. I glared at the two, a little annoyed.

"The new Sharkman and Flipperboy movie! It's coming to theatres this Saturday!" Skylar exclaimed. "Check out the trailer."

Chase leaned forward to get a better look at the trailer. Skylar looked up for a second and smirked at me. I crossed my arms in response. She rolled her eyes and flipped her hair onto her left side. She leaned in with Chase and started talking to him quietly.

I took a deep breath. That girl was really pissing me off. Seriously, I was going to lose it. Bree slid her chair over to me.

"She likes him." She whispered. I nodded, glaring daggers at the two. Apparently, Chase had said something funny because Skylar started laughing.

"I know." I growled. Bree frowned.

"Does she know that you two are dating?" She asked. I nodded again.

"Yes. She does." I said.

Chase leaned back, the trailer obviously being done. "That looks amazing!" He exclaimed. Skylar nodded.

"Maybe we can go see it this weekend. I have tickets."

I stared at her. Was she seriously asking him to go to the movies with her? Chase shrugged.

"Maybe." He agreed. He looked at Bree and I. "Do yo guys want to come?"

Bree shook her head, but I faked a smile. "I'd love to." I replied.

"Really? I thought you hated the series." Chase said. I shrugged.

"I'm going to give it another chance." I smiled at him. He grinned.

"Cool." He replied. I sent Skylar a smirk.

"Won't it be fun?" I asked her, enjoying the look of annoyance on her face. But it was quickly replaced by a fake smile.

"I'm sorry Calla. I only have two tickets." She apologized. She looked at Chase. "But you still want to go, right?"

"If I've got nothing else planned, sure." He agreed. I glared at Skylar's triumphant smirk.

** Chase's POV **

"Have you guys noticed anything different with Calla?" I asked. Tasha had brought us all grocery shopping with her for the afternoon, leaving Calla and Skylar alone at the house. For some reason, I couldn't help but feel that was a bad idea.

"Yeah, she's been in a seriously bad mood ever since Thursday night." Adam agreed as we walked through the front door. We deposited the grocery bags on the kitchen counter, and started heading down to the lab.

"I know, but I can't figure out why." I said, frowning. Bree looked at me.

"I think I do-" She started but was cut off as we heard loud, angry shouting. We looked at each other then ran into the lab. Calla and Skylar were shouting at each other in the center of the room, smoke rising from Calla's computer. An empty smoothie lay on the ground next to it.

"I can't believe you! You little witch! How could you!" Calla was screaming. Skylar was screaming right back though.

"How dare you call me a witch! It was an accident, you obnoxious little nerd!" She screamed. The two looked like they were about to try and kill each other.

I ran over and grabbed my girlfriend by her waist, pulling her away while Adam did the same with Skylar. "What is going on here?" I demanded, not letting go of Calla, mainly because I was scared she would commit a murder.

"That little witch dumped her smoothie on my computer! You ruined it!" Calla directed the last part towards Skylar. Skylar looked at me.

"It was an accident. I apologized." She said through clenched teeth.

"Liar!" Calla snapped. Skylar glared at her.

"I'm not the one who's lying!" She exclaimed.

"Enough!" I shouted. "Would you both just calm down!"

"Fine." They both crossed their arms, fuming. I looked at Calla.

"Look, it was an accident…" I told her. Calla looked at me.

"No, it wasn't." she insisted. "She's lying. She dumped it on my computer on purpose!"

"No I didn't!" Skylar exclaimed. I looked at Calla.

"Why would she do that?" I asked. Calla glared at her.

"Because she's an evil, self-absorbed little sl-" She started.

"Calla!" I cut her off. "That's enough!"

She stared at me. "Are you really taking her side?" she whispered, shocked. I sighed.

"Calla…" she pulled away from me, hurt evident in her eyes.

"You know what? Forget it. I'm out of here. Do The Call without me." She ran off without another word. I looked at my siblings, wondering if they knew what that was about. I'd never seen Calla give up an argument so easily. Adam shrugged, Leo looked completely confused, and Bree was shaking her head at me.

I started to go after Calla, but Bree stopped me. "Let her calm down." She advised. "She won't want to listen to you while she'd this upset."

I looked at Skylar. "I'm sorry about her. She's never usually like this." I apologized. "I don't know what's gotten into her."

Skylar frowned. "Really? She seems totally full of herself. She's been really rude to me the entire time I've been here."

I looked at her. "She's not that kind of person." I snapped at her. Skylar shrugged.

"I have no idea why you go out with her." Skylar said. "Seriously Chase, I think you should break up with her."

We all stared at her. "Hey, I may not understand why Calla's acting like this all of a sudden, but she's a nice person." I told Skylar, slightly angry that she would insult Calla like that. "You should give her a chance."

"A chance to what?" Skylar demanded. "To attack me? Because that's exactly what she was going to do if you hadn't come down. She needs to learn some self control."

"Hey!" I yelled. "Quit insulting her."

"Chase-" Skylar started, but I shrugged her off. I headed towards the door.

"I'm going to go check on Calla." I told her. Not bothering to hide the anger in my voice.

** Xxx **

"Calla, let me in!" I exclaimed, pounding on her door. I had went straight here after leaving the lab and hadn't been surprised when Jaden told me she had locked herself up in her room. He was downstairs at the moment, watching a baseball game on TV.

"Calla!" I shouted again. There was no answer. I reached the door knob and opened the door. Calla was on her balcony, leaning against the railing. I walked over and leaned against the railing next to her.

"I'm sure the computer's not that damaged…" I started.

"I'm not upset about the computer Chase." Calla sounded tired, as if she'd just given up arguing.

"Then what are you upset about?" I asked. Calla huffed in frustration.

"It's her. And you. And…" she broke off angrily.

"What did I do?" I asked, confused. She sighed.

"Look, just leave me alone Chase. Have fun on your date with Skylar tomorrow." She tried to walk away, but I grabbed her wrist, stopping her.

"What date? We're just friends." I objected.

"Tell that to her!" Calla exclaimed. "Chase, she doesn't want to be your friend. Can't you see that?"

"Even if that's true, why would I leave you for her?" I demanded. Calla shook her head in disbelief.

"Because she's smart and…and she's pretty and you like some of the same things…" She trailed off. I frowned at her.

"You think she's pretty?" I asked. Calla stared at me.

"Have you not looked at her?" She demanded. I shrugged.

"Why would I look at her when you're in the room?" I asked. Calla stared at me and opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Tears crept into the corners of her eyes.

"Hey, don't cry." I whispered, pulling her into my arms. She buried her face in the crook of my neck.

"I'm so stupid." She murmured.

"No, you're not." I replied quickly. "Maybe a little irrational at times, but you're not stupid."

Calla didn't answer but stayed in my arms for a long time. Eventually, she pulled away. I looked at her for a long time. "You were seriously jealous of Skylar?" She shrugged, hugging herself and refusing to look at me. "Calla, that's ridiculous."

She shrugged again, staying quiet. "Calla, you're ten times more beautiful than she is, and ten times as smart."

"You think so?" she asked quietly. I nodded.

"I know so." I said firmly. "Plus, she's seriously full of herself."

Calla almost smiled. "Yeah, I know."

"So, we're good now?" I asked. Calla nodded.

"Yeah." She said. Suddenly, an alarm went off in the house.

"Calla, shut off that stupid alarm clock!" Jaden shouted. We both laughed.

"He really hates that thing, doesn't he?" I guessed. Calla laughed again, wiping the tears off her cheeks.

"Totally." She agreed. I smiled at her.

"So, you're not going to be jealous of Skylar anymore?" I asked. She nodded.

"I still hate her." She replied. I smirked.

"Just don't kill her, okay? As amusing as it would be to see your mom arrest you, I'm pretty sure it would make family dinners pretty awkward."

Calla laughed again and I pulled her back into my arms. She wrapped her arms around my neck. I kissed her deeply. She blushed when I pulled away, a smile on her face. "You're my girl. Nothing's ever going to change that."

** Calla's POV **

"So, who's ready for The Call?" I asked, skipping into the lab twenty minutes early. I had my prototype alarm clock in my bag.

"Hey beautiful." Chase greeted, hugging me from behind. I sent a smirk at Skylar. She was sitting at Leo's desk with him, while Mr. Davenport and Mr. Lewis were at the super computer.

"Your computer's fine Calla. We just had to replace some of the hard drive, but your memory card's fine." Leo told me. I grinned.

"Thanks Leo." I replied. "Anyway, when is this Call starting? I've got a product to sell."

"You're sure excited." Mr. Davenport commented, heading over to the camera.

"Yup." I replied, placing my invention on a podium. "My first invention is being sold at the biggest sale of the year. Of course I am."

"Who's doing what?" Leo asked. Skylar grinned.

"Well, why don't Chase and I take the first half of the projects, while you and Calla take care of the equipment and filming?" She suggested. Chase smiled.

"Actually, seeing as Calla's work is one of the inventions sold, why doesn't she sell the inventions with me? I'm sure Leo can show you how the camera works." He offered. I smiled.

"What a great idea, babe." I said before kissing him on the lips. I won't lie; I got quite a bit of pleasure from the out of Skylar's outraged face. "Something wrong, Skylar?"

"No, nothing." She replied stiffly. Chase smiled.

"Alright then. Let's do this." He said, wrapping his arm around me. I couldn't help but smile too. Chase was right; being jealous of Skylar was ridiculous. He was mine and he would never leave me.


	5. Not So Smart Phone

** Leo's POV **

"This is stupid." Calla commented, watching as Adam and I set up their bowling pins. I rolled his eyes.

"You're just annoyed that we won't let you play." I shot back. She laughed.

"Not really. I'm more annoyed that you guys decided to bowl in here rather than a bowling alley. I have a lot of work to get done." She gestured at her desk for emphasis. There was at least six piles of forms that had to be filled out because of our success at The Call. It was a lot of work, granted, but I would have thought she would have been happier. The IQ Clock was one of the most popular things sold. It made a lot of money, and because she was the one who invented and designed it, she got most of the profits.

Normally, I would have been nice enough to let her work, but I really, really wanted to check out what Adam called 'Bionic Bowling'.

"Hey guys." Chase called as he and Bree walked into the room. They were both still wearing their Tech Town uniforms. They'd both gotten jobs there shortly before The Call, thanks to Kaitlin actually. "Check it out. We just got our first paychecks from Tech Town."

Calla grinned. "Nice job, babe. What are you going to spend it on?" she asked. "A new phone? New shoes? A present for your girlfriend who wants a new phone and new shoes?"

Chase grinned back at her. "Nope. I'm going to open a savings account." He announced. We all sighed. Classic Chase.

"Look, I want to like you, but you make it so hard." Bree told him, walking past us so that she could head upstairs.

"The job also comes with perks." Chase continued, pulling a white cell phone out of his pocket. Calla and I both recognized the beauty at once.

"The new E-Phone 7! Those aren't even out yet! How'd you get one?" I demanded.

"Well, Leo, as a rising star of the Tech Town Empire-" Chase started, but Bree interrupted him.

"We all got one." She informed us, pulling her new phone out of her pocket. Calla and I stared at Chase's phone, wide eyed. The only thought on my mind: I need that phone. I really needy that phone.

"People are already lined up for the big release on Friday. You should have seen the crazed looks in their eyes when I walked by with this thing." Chase continued. He noticed the looks on our faces. "Yep, that's the look."

I pulled the phone out of his hands. "This version has the new auto-centric feature to help you take better selfies." I explained before snapping a photo of myself.

I grimaced at the result. It was…disturbing to say the least. Calla and Chase both looked at me.

"Yeah, I don't photograph well." I admitted. Calla grinned and took the phone from me.

"Let me try." She requested, taking her own selfie. She smiled at the result and showed it to Chase. "Don't I look pretty?"

"Of course you do." Chase replied, trying to take the phone back. She obviously didn't want to let it go.

"Hey Calla, point that bad boy over here!" Adam called. We turned to see him holding a bowling ball. "You're going to want to record this perfection."

Chase frowned. "What's going on?" He asked. Adam and I quickly explained while Calla got the camera ready.

"I'll video tape one game, but then you guys got to let me work. I have my own pay check to earn." She reminded us. We all nodded.

"Alright. Three, two, one…" She counted down, pointing at Adam once she hit zero.

He grinned into the camera. "I'm Adam Davenport and this is Bionic Bowling." He announced. I grinned and started to do commentary.

"Adam is 6'2", a rare combination of strength and not much else." I told our fake audience. Adam frowned at the description, but didn't say anything. He turned to the pins, took a deep breath, and chucked the ball at them, knocking them all down.

"Whoo!" Adam cheered. Chase rolled his eyes, and I went to reset the pins.

"Please, I can do better than that." Chase commented. I gave him the bowling ball once I was done setting up all the pins. "I'm Chase Davenport and this is Telekinesis Bowling." He announced, giving Adam a look. I smirked.

"A native of Mission Creek, Chase's hobbies include being a tattletale and creeping out all girls but Calla." He said. Chase stopped and gave me a hard look. I shrugged in response.

Chase sighed and placed the bowling ball on the ground. He stepped back and sent the bowling ball at the pins using his telekinesis. It hit almost all of them, leaving Chase with a 7/10 split.

"Oh, the dreaded 7/10 split!" I exclaimed as Adam and I began to mock him. "Devastating, just devastating!"

"Leo, back off." Calla ordered. Chase raised his hand and the ball rolled backwards, knocking into the one pin and then the other. Chase grinned at the camera.

"You were saying?" he asked, chucking. Adam glared at him as I ran to set the pins up once again.

"Oh, it's so on!" He shouted. I ran over, the pins set up perfectly, and handed Adam his bowling ball. Adam turned back to the camera.

"Still Adam Davenport and this is Blast Wave Bowling." He told us. He looked like he was ready to throw the ball, but instead ended up dropping it. He took two steps to the left, stood behind Chase, and used his Blast Wave to send my him flying into the pins. He curled up in a ball as he hit the ground. We all ran over to him.

Chase rolled over onto his back with a groan. I grinned. "And we have a loser!" I announced, taking Chase's phone from Calla and aiming the camera at him. Chase gave me a look.

"Here." Calla offered, holding her hand out to him. He accepted it and got to his feet.

"Thanks." He smiled at her, then glared at Adam and I.

"Hey, no fighting boys." Calla told him, taking his hand. "Now come on."

"Where are we going?" he asked, following her out of the lab. She grinned.

"To get me some shoes…I mean, to open your savings account." She replied. Chase laughed. Me and Adam looked at each other and smirked. Chase actually thought Calla was kidding about the shoes.

** Chase's POV **

Man, I loved working at Tech Town! I got paid to be around technology. How could I possibly have a better job?

"Alright, huddle up team!" My boss, Scott, said with one foot on the podium that sat in the middle of the room. We all gathered around him. "Tomorrow is our biggest sale of the year. For us Techies, this is our world series and I'm your starting quarterback!"

He pretended to throw a football and I cheered him on. "Go team!" I shouted, trying to high five him. We both missed, but we ignored the failure. "Scott, I've studied all the specs and I'm ready to assist any customer that needs help."

I put my foot on the podium next to him and he immediately moved his up a level. "Great, because we are going to have more people in the store than ever before. Any questions?"

Kaitlin's hand shot right up. Scott looked at her. "Can we not do the sale?" she pleaded. Scott sighed.

"Kaitlin, remember what I said? Think before you speak and then don't speak." He told her. Kaitlin started miming him under her breath as he walked away. Sighing, I walked over to her.

"You okay?" I asked.

"I'm fine, just not a big fan of crowds." She replied. "When I worked at the pretzel hut, we had this big 3 for 1 sale."

I nodded, remembering when Leo came home, arms overflowing with pretzels. "It was a madhouse. " Kaitlin continued. "And the customer's wouldn't leave me alone. They all wanted the last cinnamon pretzel so I did what any sane person would do." I nodded again, figuring that she either ran for her life or shut down the shop.

"I ate it." I backed away a little, slightly disturbed by her tone of voice. "Then I sprayed everyone with hot butter and ran."

She smiled at me. "Anyway, I'm going to go grab a pretzel." She told me, walking off.

I watched her go. Why did Calla have to have such weird friends? Then I noticed Mr. Davenport walk in.

"Mr. Davenport, what are you doing here?" I questioned. "We're not allowed visitors at work."

He chuckled. "I'm not a visitor, I'm a celebrity." He corrected me. "And this celebrity needs a favour. Tomorrow is my anniversary and all Tasha wants in that stupid E-Phone. Even though I could make something better using junk from the trash."

I chuckled, agreeing with him. "So, if I get her one early, it will make her feel special, so just got get me a phone so I don't have to stay all night with these losers."

He looked at the crowd. Everyone there looked offended. "No way." I told Mr. Davenport. "I could lose my job, you have to go wait in my line."

Mr. Davenport chuckled, then realized I was serious. "Seriously?" he asked.

"Now." I ordered. He groaned in annoyance.

"I'm your father! You should at least have the decency-" I rolled my eyes and cut him off.

"Mr. Davenport, if the girlfriend card didn't work, I'm pretty sure the father card won't either." I told him. He frowned.

"Wait, you actually made Calla wait in line?" he questioned. I nodded, still remembering the look on her face. She'd been both shocked and angry at the same time. "Wow, you have a death wish."

"Just go!" I said again, pointing at the line.

"Fine." He relented. "Where's the end of the line?"

I walked over to the entrance and pointed at one of the mall's security guards. "You see that security guard with the golf cart?" I asked.

"Yeah, that's not so bad." Mr. Davenport replied.

"Yeah, well you might want to stop and ask him for a lift, because the line ends a mile past that." I told him before walking away.

** Leo's POV **

"Hey, who's limo is that blocking the bus lanes?" I asked, running over to where Jaden and Bree were talking. Bree shrugged.

"I don't know." She replied. "But I've always wanted to ride in one. They look so classy."

Suddenly, a trumpet went off. We turned to see a grey haired man roll out a red carpet. Principal Perry, wearing a fur coat and a pink boa, walked in. "Moring sewer sacks."

"Then again, looks can be deceiving." Bree corrected herself. Principal Perry walked over to us,

"Sorry about blocking the bus lanes. I can't walk too far in these." She showed us her high heels. "I haven't worn heels this high since I did the pageant tour."

Jaden frowned at her. "You were in beauty pageants?"

"Yep, never won though." Principal Perry replied. "Apparently it's not a talent to squat lift a two hundred and fifty pound barbell while rocking a bikini."

"I've done that hundreds of times." Jaden objected. Bree and I stared at him. "Wearing guy clothes, of course."

Principal Perry ignored him and turned to the grey haired man, whom I now realized was her chauffer. "Here's a five, Butch. Keep the heater pumping."

He left, tucking the five dollar bill into his jacket. "So how did you get a limo?" Bree asked.

"Daddy Davenport just gave a huge chunk of hush money for keeping your bionic secret." She replied, pulling a massive gold necklace out of her jacket. On the end was a large, bedazzled letter P. "I'm wearing your college funds, kids."

She then turned to face the rest of the school. "Gather around, puss pockets!" She shouted, drawing everyone's attention. "Since I have come into some recent moolah, I've decided to start giving back…to myself."

"How is that new?" Jaden muttered to Bree. She giggled.

"I hereby announce," Principal Perry continued, "that I am retiring as principal, effective the end of the week."

I stared at her, wondering if I was dreaming. "Yes!" The word burst from my lips before I could stop it. "I dreamed this day would come! Oh, it's time people."

I grabbed Bree's new phone from her hands and played the first song on her playlist. I started dancing gleefully around the school lobby. I didn't even care that everyone was staring. Today was the best day of my life!

I ended the dance with my fists in the air and my grinning face pointed towards the sky. A few people started clapping awkwardly.

"Are you done?" Perry asked, completely disgusted. "Because I've got to wash that off."

She walked towards the bench in the middle of the lobby and pulled off the top. Beneath the dingo logo was a hot tub.

"You bought the school a hot tub?" Bree gasped, amazed.

"No, I bought it for me." Perry replied. "And I'm taking it with me when I go. Much like the vending machine."

"Seriously? I basically live on that food!" Jaden complained. Perry leaned down and pulled on a red cap, then pulled off her fur coat and boa to reveal her striped red and white bathing suit. She tossed the coat at me and I felt the need to cover my eyes with it.

Perry lowered herself into the hot tub as the rest of the school left for their classes. Bree, Jaden and I just watched her in horrified shock.

"Take that undiagnosed skin condition." Perry said. I dropped the coat immediately.

** Chase's POV **

"Oh! The hot tub's empty!" Adam exclaimed, rushing down the stairs. It'd been a few days since Perry had shown it off and he'd been waiting all week for it to be Perry-less. "You'd better take your phone out of your pocket, Chase. I'm going to throw you in."

I knew that there was no stopping him, so I reached into my pocket to get my phone. There was nothing there. I quickly checked the other pocket, but it was empty too.

Oh no. "My phone. It's gone."

Adam grinned, not realizing how bad that was. "Perfect, let's do this."He grabbed me by the shoulder's, ready to throw me in.

"Adam, stop!" I exclaimed. He let go, confused.

"What?" He asked.

"That phone has our bionic bowling on it. If someone sees it, our secret will be exposed!" I told him. Adam sighed. "I must have left it back at the store! Let's go!"

We both raced out of the building. We sped over to Tech Town as fast as we could, nearly running into several people on our way. I skidded to a stop midway through the line.

"Calla!" I exclaimed. She was sitting on the ground, playing games on her laptop. She scowled half-heartedly when she saw me.

"Oh, have you changed your mind about getting me a phone early?" she asked, half teasingly. I ignored that.

"I lost my phone!" I exclaimed. "Did you borrow it?"

"No. What's the big deal?" she asked, sliding her laptop into her backpack. I quickly explained about the Bionic Bowling. "Oh, crap. You need to find that thing and fast."

"Yeah, can you help us?" I begged. She hesitated. "I'll buy you a new phone!"

"Make way!" She shouted, ducking under the rope divider. She shouldered her backpack and followed us into the store.

** Leo's POV **

Bree laughed in amusement as I danced up and down the stairs. I couldn't help it though. I was just so happy!

"I have never seen you this happy." She commented when I stopped. I grinned at her.

"I know. With Perry leaving, this baby bird is ready to fly!" I lifted my arms up and down, mimicking a bird.

Suddenly, the trumpeting sound started again. Butch rolled Perry into the lobby on a carriage. This time, she was wearing a white tuxedo.

She climbed off and looked at Butch. "Keep your legs warm in case we need to make a hast retreat." She advised him. He nodded and backed into the gym. She walked to the center of the room.

"Listen up!" she called. "I am happy to announce that after an exhausting twenty-two minute search, I have found your new principal!"

She gestured at the doors and the last person I wanted to see walked through them. "HEY-OH!" Trent shouted as he walked through, wearing a principal's jacket and light blue shorts.

"Trent?" I exclaimed, my happy mood disappearing at once. Trent grinned.

"That's right Dooley." He handed me a sheet of paper. "Your new schedule."

I looked at it, confused. "First period, theatre where you'll perform a one-man version of Annie for the entire school." Trent explained, pulling a red wig out of his jacket. He shoved it onto my head. "Then marching band where you'll be the drum major's baton!" He stared swinging his arm like the drum major would. "And then gym where…well, your embarrassment there goes without saying."

He and Perry chuckled to themselves. I looked at Bree for help, but I could tell that she was trying to stay out of this.

** Chase's POV **

Adam, Calla and I burst into the store. Scott noticed us immediately and walked over to us. "Chase, it's not even your shift and you're here? I'm impressed."

"I'm not here to work actually. I think I left my phone on the prodigy bar." I told him.

"Oh, you mean our packing area?" He gestured at the counter. It was piled high with phone boxes. Dread washed over me.

"Ahh." I moaned in shock. I looked at Adam and Calla. "Someone must have packed my phone with the others. We have to find it."

"Whoa, we?" Adam looked at me. "I just came to watch you freak out."

"That does sound fun." Calla murmured. I looked at her. "Just kidding."

Scott turned to face my coworkers. "Alright, it's game time." He announced.

"Scott, can you delay opening for a minute so I can find my phone?" I begged.

"Let me run it up the corporate ladder. Tick, tick, tick, tick…" he made hand movements as if he was climbing a ladder. "No."

I sighed. "Release the herd!" Scott shouted. One of my fellow workers, Brad, opened the rope fence and people came rushing in. I was soon trampled by customers.

"Now this is the show I bought tickets for!" I heard Adam laugh. Suddenly, I was grabbed by the arm and pulled out of the stampeding crowd.

"Thanks." I muttered to Calla as she let go of my arm.

"No prob. Now, what are we going to do about your phone situation?" she asked me. I watched as the stampede slowed until it was a nice, orderly line. Sometime during this, Scott had slipped out of the room.

"She started it!" Kaitlin yelled. We turned around to see Scott carrying her into the room. He set Kaitlin down in front of the phone counter.

"Kaitlin, guard the phones and don't let anyone touch them." Scott ordered, pulling what I hoped was a wig and not someone's real hair, out of Kaitlin's hands. "I've got to go find whoever this belongs to."

"Man, we're never going to be able to look for the phone with her on guard." I complained.

"Nope, but look on the bright side." Adam said. I frowned at him.

"What bright side?" I asked.

"I don't know. I'm just trying to be a more positive person." He replied. I glared at him. Calla sighed.

"What are we going to do?" she asked again.

** Leo's POV **

"Kill me." I pleaded to anyone that might have been listening. "Just kill me. Please."

Trent grinned at me, then walked into the lobby. I heard him whistle. "Alright, I've got some good news and I've got some bad news." He told the students.

"The bad news is that I'm instituting a school uniform policy." He said. I briefly wondered where he learned the word 'instituting'.

I heard a lot of complaints. "The good news," Trent continued "is only Dooley has to wear it."

I banged my head against the wall, not wanting anyone to see me wear this outfit. "Come on out sweet prince!" Trent ordered. I really had no choice.

I walked into the lobby. I was wearing a white shirt with a black jacket that had a large white collar and massive white buttons on it. I was also wearing black shorts and white knee-high socks. Everyone started laughing, even Bree. Although, she was decent enough to try and hide it behind her hand. I spun around in a circle, giving everyone a good look. Maybe if they got all their laughter out of their systems now, I wouldn't be ridiculed for the entire school year.

Trent walked over to Bree. "What are you laughing at?" he asked with a smile on his face. "This is your new uniform."

He pulled out a pink shirt with my face on it. Underneath the picture of my face was the words 'I'm related to this loser'.

Bree looked at him in shock. "Why are you dragging me into this?" she demanded. "What did I do?"

"A, you're related to him and B, I don't even really know." He laughed, draping the shirt over Bree's head like a hat. Jaden stepped out of the crowd and walked over to him.

"Come on man, don't you think that's enough?" he asked. Trent thought about it.

"No." He replied, high fiving one of the students and heading into his new office. Bree sighed and pulled the t-shirt off her head.

"He can not be principal!" she exclaimed as the crowd dispersed, leaving only the three of us. "He is worse than she is!"

"I can not believe I'm saying this, but we have to make Perry stay!" I sobbed. Jaden and Bree gave me sympathetic looks. Bree hugged me slightly.

Suddenly, Perry's head shot up from the hot tub. She was wearing a snorkel. "What are you doing down there?" I asked curiously.

"Just checking on my veggie dumplings." She replied, holing up a fishnet full of the food. We looked at her.

"Principal Perry, are you sure you want to retire?" Bree asked. "I mean, the position of principal comes with prestige."

"Bree's right. You're shaping America's youth." Jaden added.

"If I cared about shaping our youth, I'd still be teaching swimming lessons down at the swamp." She told us. We looked at her. "Hey, if a kid sees a gator coming, he'll swim."

I grabbed Jaden and Bree by the arms and pulled them over to a corner. "Look, this is not going to work." I told them. "The only way to persuade someone like that is with bribes and she already has money."

"What if she didn't?" Jaden asked. Bree and I looked at him. "Well, she would need more money if she was broke."

"Jay's got a point." Bree said, smiling. "We've got a few hours left until she officially retires. If we could get her to spend all of her money, she would have to stay."

I crossed my arms. "I don't know. It seems kind of crazy."

Bree raised an eyebrow at that. "Look at your outfit."

"I'm in." I replied quickly. We turned back to Perry.

"Principal Perry," Jaden decided to do the talking because as a football player, he was one of the few people on her good side "to celebrate your last day, we would all like to take you shopping."

"Pass. I'd rather die." She replied. Jaden looked at Bree for help.

"Come on!" Bree walked over to Perry, speaking in a low voice so only we could hear. "With my super speed, I can take you anywhere. Beverly Hills? New York Fifth Avenue?"

Perry seemed to like those options. "Well, I am an uptown girl. Fine, but before we go, can you grab that stray dumpling bobbing around beside my big toe?"

Bree reached for the dumpling with a disgusted look on her face, but Perry stopped her. "Never mind, I can do it." She grabbed it and lifted it out of the hot tub with her foot. "Want a bite?" she asked.

I stared at it and shook my head. Jaden frowned. "You know what's weird? I kinda want a bite."

"Gross." Bree commented.

** Chase's POV **

"I don't know what we're going to do." I said to Calla. Scott interrupted us.

"Uh-oh. We've got another scuffle in line. Some old rich guy tried to take a cutsie and that's a Tech Town no-no."

"Some old rich guy?" Calla questioned, a knowing smirk on her face. She knew exactly who that guy was and so did I.

"I'm going to need some muscle." Scott continued, looking around. He glanced at me for a second, then turned to Kaitlin. "Kaitlin, come with me."

I looked at him, only slightly offended. According the what the kids said at school, Kaitlin had once taken on a grizzly bear because she wanted the last piece of salmon at a picnic. And apparently, she won that fight.

I grabbed Calla's hand and dragged her over to Adam. "Okay, he's gone. You two make up excuses to look at customers' phones."

"What do we say?" Adam asked.

"I don't know! Be creative!" That was a bad choice of words. Never use the words 'be creative' around those two. Ever. Here's how it went for Adam:

"Can I borrow your phone?" He asked, walking over to one of the customers. "My car just broke down and I need to call a tow truck. You see my wife's making me dinner and she gets really upset when I'm late…" the customer held out his phone. "Whoa, whoa. Hold on, I'm not done." The customer looked confused. "Anyway, she's making me lasagne and it's my favourite. Okay, now."

Adam took the phone from the customer and began checking it for the videos. As for Calla…

"Yo, lend me your phone." She said, walking over to a guy our age. The guy looked at her.

"Why?" He asked. She rolled her eyes.

"Because I need to borrow it, duh." She replied, taking the phone out of his hands. "Thanks."

So, the lesson learned here – be a little more specific than 'be creative'.

** Leo's POV **

"Okay, you have to send me those photos." I grinned at Jaden. Bree and Perry were still shopping, leaving the two of us to wait back here for them. And after a little convincing (and begging) I had convinced Jaden to give me some blackmail material against his sister. You know, for emergencies. Or whenever I needed her to do my homework.

Jaden had come through alright. Calla would die if any of these photos he was showing me came to the public eye. He emailed them from his phone to mine just as Bree walked back in, carrying several shopping bags.

"Hey, where's your uniform?" she asked, noticing that I was wearing normal clothes.

"Trent sent it into the tailor. He didn't think it was snug enough." I replied.

"Where's Perry?" Jaden asked.

"Oh, she wanted to make an entrance." Bree replied. Suddenly, those trumpets went off again. Perry walked into the lobby, wearing a light blue ball gown and a princess tiara.

"Greetings peasants, it's fashion time." She announced.

"No offense, but you're fifty years late for the prom." I told her. She rolled her eyes.

** Chase's POV **

"We can't keep this up!" I exclaimed, walking over to Adam and Calla. "We've got to get to the boxes before the customers get to them."

I walked over to the table, where Kaitlin was guarding them again. She stepped in front of me before I could reach them. "Can we just um…"

"You are messing with the wrong girl on the wrong day." She told me, her voice scarily calm. I smiled fearfully and backed up.

"What are we going to do?" I demanded, totally freaking out by this point.

"Don't worry, we're going to find your phone." Adam told me, his hand on my shoulder. "No one will ever know, including Mr. Davenport."

"You're right." I said, calming down. "Thank you."

"Oh, hey! There's Mr. Davenport!" Calla exclaimed, pointing at the crowd. That's when I lost it.

"AHH!" I shouted, running and throwing myself at the boxes of phones. Kaitlin managed to jump out of the way seconds before I went barrelling into them. I got my feet, ignoring the stares, and started searching through the boxes as if my life depended on it.

** Leo's POV **

"Carry the two." I muttered under my breath as I entered the numbers into my calculator. Jaden was counting through all the bills and checks that Perry has already paid. Meanwhile, Bree was using one of the school's laptops to book a plane ticket.

"Alright. Now all we have to do is book Perry's trip to Spain so that she can run with the bulls." Jaden said, piling all the bills and receipts together. I sighed.

"Poor bulls. They don't stand a chance." I said. Perry walked back out of her office, wearing her white tuxedo once again. She sighed as she walked towards us.

"We need your credit card for one last purchase." Bree told her, getting to her feet.

"Forget it. I'm done buying stuff." Perry replied sadly. "I thought all this junk would make me happy, but it doesn't."

She seemed really upset. "I'm outta here." Perry said, walking away. I sighed.

"Well, I guess we should get used to Principal Trent." I said, pulling on the Annie wig. "I'd better go freckle up. I've got two shows and a matinee."

Bree and Jaden nodded, sympathy in both their eyes. "Alright you three." Perry said. "Grab this stuff and put it in my blimp."

Out of instinct, Jaden and I reached for the nearest item, a cheetah print cat tree, but Bree stopped us. "You know what? No." Perry turned and looked at her, surprised. "Do it yourself, Terri."

"Excuse me?" Perry asked, confused. Jaden and I walked over to Bree's side.

"You're not our principal anymore, so you can't tell us what to do." Bree replied.

"Yeah, she's right." "We're done taking orders from you." Jaden and I agreed and we all started to walk away.

"I said grab my stuff, fungus pigeons!" Perry shouted. We turned to look at her and a look of realization crossed over her face. "AH!" She gasped. "Wait, this feeling. It's what's missing. None of this junk will make me happy. What really matters in life is treating people poorly for my own amusement."

She walked over to us and gave us all a hug. "And nothing makes me feel more complete than doing it to you twerps."

Bree faked a smile. "What a wonderful life lesson." She said.

"Yeah." Principal Perry agreed. "I guess I'm not going to retire after all. It's back to my original plan of working until I drop and then getting stuffed and mounted over the gym door."

"You know what's weird?" I asked with a smile. "I kinda want to see that."

** Chase's POV **

I sighed and pushed the last phone box away. "We've checked every single phone!" I said. "I can't believe I did this. After all Mr. Davenport has done to protect our bionic secret, I blew it."

"Chase." Calla placed her hand on my shoulder. "There's Mr. Davenport."

"I know. We have to go tell him." I sighed. She nodded and followed me and Adam over to our father.

"Mr. Davenport, can I talk with you?" I asked.

"Unless you want to give me a free E-Phone, I don't want to hear it." He snapped irritably. I stopped him from walking past us.

"I think you do." I told him. "I messed up. I may have-"

Kaitlin cut me off. "Go home everybody!" She shouted. "The sale's over! We're out of phones!"

Everyone in the store, even Calla and Mr. Davenport started complaining. "Wait, what about the display model?" Mr. Davenport asked.

The girl at the display counter started going through the phones pictures. The first one was of Calla. The second was of Leo. Wait, Calla and Leo?

"Oh, no, no, no, no! Calla! Leo!" I exclaimed. That was the phone. That was my phone.

"Oh, Leo really doesn't photograph well." Adam commented.

"Yeah, I suppose we can sell the display model." Scott decided. Then, the entire phone started tramping and scrambling over one another to get to the phone.

"STOP IT!" Kaitlin screamed, standing up in the middle of the crowd, the phone in her hand. We all stared at it with greedy eyes.

"Look at you people!" Kaitlin cried. "It's just like the last pretzel, except it's a stupid phone! This is why I hate crowds! YOU'RE ALL LOVING GADGETS WHEN YOU SHOULD BE LOVING EACH OTHER!"

With that final word, she threw the phone onto the ground and jumped on it several times for emphasis. We all stared at her in surprise.

"Kaitlin." Scott tapped her on the shoulder, not looking very pleased. "You're fired."

She turned around and looked at him with a confused expression on her face. "May I ask why?"

He didn't answer, instead picking her up and physically removing her from the store. Mr. Davenport watched them for a moment before turning to us. "So, what did you want to tell me?"

"That…" I racked my mind for a decent lie "if you want to buy something for Tasha, you'd better hurry because the mall closes at nine."

Mr. Davenport nodded and went to look for something. Calla sighed.

"I seriously don't understand why she had to break the phone." She said sadly. I rolled my eyes. "She could have sold it to us. We're her friends."

"You really wanted an E-phone, didn't you?" I asked. She nodded sadly. I smiled. "Alright, how about this? I'll make sure to let you know beforehand when we get the new shipment. And we head over to George's Restaurant for dinner? I'm starved."

Calla smiled. "Let's go then." She said, taking my hand.

** Leo's POV **

We all watched as Principal Perry's stuff was hauled out of the school lobby. Bree looked at the older woman.

"So, you're not going to miss this stuff at all?" she asked.

"Nah. Just the hot tub." Principal Perry replied. "The school board deemed it inappropriate. If cooking your dinner in the same water you bathe in is inappropriate, then I don't want to be appropriate."

"How'd Trent take the news?" I asked. She shrugged.

"He was upset until I agreed to spring for a new gym teacher uniform." She replied. I smiled.

"A new uniform?" I asked. She nodded. "I can help with that."

** Xxx **

I smirked, my camera pointed at the doors. "Come on out, Trent!" I called. He stepped through the doors, a shocked expression on his face.

He was wearing a shiny blue shirt with black cuffs, a black collar and a black belt, all made of fur. His shorts were the same shiny blue, with black furry cuffs. Even Jaden couldn't help but laugh at his former teammate.

"I look ridiculous...ly awesome!" He exclaimed, much to our surprise. He high vied Principal Perry, grinning. "BEST EMOTION EVER!"


	6. Scramble the Orbs

** Leo's POV **

"What's taking them so long?" I asked myself. I was sitting downstairs in the lab, waiting for someone to arrive. I wanted to show off my latest (and first!) invention, but I needed a volunteer.

Finally, I heard the lab doors slide open. "Hey Adam," I greeted when I saw him walk in. I walked away from my desk and took a deep breath. "Attack me."

"No, no, no. I know how this works. First you tell me to attack you, I say no, and you taunt me until I snap. It's not going to happen." I threw a crumbled up piece of paper at him. "OH IT'S ON LITTLE MAN!"

He started towards me, but stopped when two, soccer ball shaped orbs started hovering above me. He backed up slightly, frowning at them. Then, the orbs shot two lasers at him, knocking him back several feet.

"Oh no!" He exclaimed, pushing himself off the ground. "The Christmas ornaments are turning against us!"

He jumped to his feet just as the orbs flew away. "No, you just got pulse-waved by my latest invention, attack orbs." I told him, not able to keep the pride out of my voice.

"Huh?" Adam asked, confused.

"When they perceive a threat within five feet of me, they attack." I explained, showing him the blue prints. "They're mobile robotic body guards."

"Impressive." He admitted. "But have you ever just thought of lifting weights or working out?"

"I designed them to protect you guys from Douglas and Krane." I informed him. "If I'm going to be a true inventor, I'm going to have to start making things without Big D or Calla's help. And if I prove myself, Big D might eventually let me be his business partner."

Eddy popped up on the screen by my desk. "Right." He laughed. "Because every billionaire needs an incompetent relative that brings nothing to the table."

I glared at him. Chase walked in and Adam grinned. "Speaking of."

"Hey guys." Chase greeted.

"Chase, why are you attacking Leo?" Adam asked. Chase frowned.

"What?" he asked, confused. In response, Adam pushed him towards me. My two attack orbs immediately flew in. I waved at Chase as he looked at the orbs.

"Ah!" He shouted as they blast-waved him. He flew backwards. Adam grinned.

"Awesome!" He high-fived me, just for the orbs to shoot him back as well. He landed next to Chase. "Do it again!" he exclaimed.

I looked up at the orbs, frowning. They were only supposed to shoot enemies or people attacking me. Not people who gave me high-fives. I shrugged. Oh well, it was probably nothing.

** Chase's POV **

"Hey, what are you doing here?" I asked, walking over to Calla. She held up the IPad she was looking at.

"Jaden's eighteenth birthday is coming up in a couple of week and I need to get him a gift." She replied. "And because it's his eighteenth, it has to be special."

"Ah." I nodded. "I thought you were visiting me at work."

Calla smiled softly at me. "I would, but your boss creeps me out."

"Scott's not creepy." I objected. She raised an eyebrow at me. "Okay, maybe a little weird, but not creepy."

"No, no. I agree with Calla." Bree told me. Calla smirked.

"Well, I'm going to go buy this. Why don't you meet me at the food court when you're on your lunch break? I could totally go for some tacos right now."

"Sure thing." I kissed her on the cheek and she walked over to the counter. Scott walked over to me and Bree just then.

"Well, if it isn't my employee of the week and my weak employee." He greeted. I chuckled, Bree didn't.

"Good one Scott." I told him. "It's funny because she's bad at her job."

Bree smiled at me. "Well, I would be better at it, but I have thing that get in the way, like friends and life."

Scott smirked at our bickering, then signalled for all of the employees to gather around him. "Listen up guys!" He called., walking over to the large monitor. "It's time for Tech Town's annual design your own app contest!"

He pointed at the screen, which said basically the same thing that he did. "Does the fun ever end around here?" Bree asked sarcastically.

"Yeah, usually when you show up." Scott shot back. We both laughed. "Back to the contest." Scott continued. "All entrants have twenty-four hours to upload their app to our website. Whoever has the most downloads by Friday, wins a five hundred dollar gift card."

He raised his foot, leaned it against the counter, and pulled the gift card out of his sock. "And please, apply yourselves this year." He told us. "I am so sick of winning."

"Don't worry Scott." I told him, smirking. "I'm definitely going to app-ply myself."

"No more tech puns." Scott told me. "A lady complained to corporate."

Bree smirked next to me. "That was me."

"Chase, no offense, but you're clearly out of your league." Scott told me. "You're never going to outshine the master."

I bit back a chuckle. He was the master? I didn't think so. "The master? You clearly have no idea who you're dealing with."

Scott was shocked. "How could you turn on me like this? I was your idol."

"Yeah, well now you're my competition." I replied.

"Sounds like you're challenging me." Scott said, glaring down at me. "And no one challenges me! Except my mom. She's my ride."

I frowned. Really? He walked away without another word, while I started to think of different ideas for my app.

** Leo's POV **

I always hated gym class. Always have, always will. But at least before, we used to play sports all the time while our gym teacher would be reading a magazine. We never really did anything fitness.

Trent however, took gym class seriously. And that meant sit ups.

"Keep going people." He ordered. Some of the kids were working their way towards a hundred sit ups. I was trying to reach my second one when Janelle walked over to me.

"Hey Leo." She greeted. I collapsed back onto the mat.

"Hey Janelle." I scrambled to my feet. "Fancy seeing you here while I'm getting jacked."

I flexed my non-existent muscles for emphasis.

"Are you done?" Janelle asked after a minute.

"Yes." I muttered, relaxing my arms. Janelle smiled.

"Good news." She told me. "I got you front row seats to my play tomorrow night! The History of Mission Creek" Two Hundred Years of Drought, Smallpox, and Cattle."

I faked a smile because I could see she was really excited about this. "So, what role do you play?" I asked.

"The founder of Mission Creek, Henrietta Shtomp." She replied. "It follows her as she spends sixteen weeks in a covered wagon on a mission to find a creek."

I looked at her. Seriously? That was our town's history? She noticed my expression. "You hate it don't you?" she guessed. "It's going to be boring."

"No, it won't. I'll keep the audience interested." I promised her quickly. "Even if I have to start the wave." I then demonstrated. "Go smallpox!"

Janelle laughed just as Adam walked over. He smiled at Janelle. "Well, howdy there miss Shtomp." He greeted. I frowned.

"Wait, you're in the play too?" I asked. Adam nodded.

"Yeah, I play the guy who gives her directions to the creek." He replied with a grin. "Check it out. 'M'am, you're standing in it'."

Suddenly, the school bell rang. Adam looked up and grinned.

"Hey Jessica, wait for me!" He called, running after the blonde. Janelle smiled at me.

"Well, see you Leo. Good luck with that sit up." She told me, walking away.

"Hey, I did one and it was spectacular!" I exclaimed. It didn't matter though, because she was already gone. I turned around to see Trent standing behind me. "Uh-oh."

"You know, I think you and I might have gotten off on the wrong foot." He told me.

"That foot's been kicking my butt for three years." I reminded him. He looked at me.

"Anyway, the school board says I have to be nicer to students." He continued. "So I'm offering you a non-threatening hug!"

He pulled me into the grizzly bear-like hug. It was terrifying. Suddenly, he pulled away, looking above me in fear. "What are those?" he demanded. I glanced up to see my attack orbs hovering above me. Perfect. They sent tow lasers as him and he was sent flying backwards.

"Those," I said "are working better than I expected."

Trent glared at me from the ground as I walked away, intending on meeting Janelle for lunch.

** Chase's POV **

When I walked back into the store after my break, there was a large group of people surrounding Scott, including Calla and my sister.

"Guys, what's going on?" I asked. Bree turned towards me, grinning.

"Scott unveiled his app early." She told me. "It's a game called Cavity Crusher and it's super addictive. You save the world by smashing evil candy."

"The candy's not evil, it's just misunderstood." Scott corrected, not looking up from his IPad.

"Who would ever be stupid enough to buy that game?" I asked. Suddenly Calla jumped up and down beside me, squealing.

"New High score!" She screamed. Bree looked at me.

"Don't answer that." I told her, glad that Calla hadn't heard the 'stupid' comment. I stepped up on the ledge next to me.

"Behold!" I shouted, getting everyone's attentions. "My app, Structure Scan! You can scan any item and it lists the elemental make up of its molecular structure."

Everyone looked at me, silent. I pulled out a pen to demonstrate with. "This pen is 30% ink, 64% polymer, and 6% steel." I read off my phone screen. "Come on people, how fun is that?"

They all turned back to their games. Scott yawned loudly. "Attention Cavity Crushers!" he called. "I just unlocked a new level. Follow me; we're going to Lollypop Lane." He smirked and kicked the air as he passed me.

"Calla!" I complained as she followed him. She waved me off, her eyes glued to her screen.

"I'll download your stupid app later." She promised, although I doubted that she would even remember saying that.

"I don't get it." I said to Bree. She smirked.

"Of course you don't. See these people are having what we call fun."

"Structure scans can be fun!" I objected. Scott walked over to me.

"Sure they can." He agreed. He pretended to scan me. "Oh look. 100% loser."

Everyone laughed. Calla sighed and walked over to me. "Here." She said. She showed me the download screen on my phone and I saw that my app had just been downloaded. Then she deleted Scott's app. "I can just play Flappy Bird."

I smiled at her. "You're sweet."

She smiled back. "I know."

** Leo's POV **

I poked my head into the living room, making sure it was clear. I'd been hiding out in my room for the past hour because of Adam. He was really nervous about the play (mainly because Jessica promised to be there) and had been forcing anyone he saw to practice his line with him. But I'd just heard him leave, so I thought I'd grab something to eat.

"Hey Mom." I greeted, walking by her. She stopped me.

"Don't 'Hey Mom' me, mister." She told me. "I got a call from the school saying you tormented the gym teacher with some crazy devices. What have I told you about taking things like that to school?"

"Well, technically I didn't take them to school." I said.

"Oh, so they just showed up on their own?" My mom asked sarcastically.

"Exactly, are we good here?" I tried to walk away, but she grabbed me by my hood, stopping me.

"We're not finished." She told me, getting a little angrier. Suddenly, my attack orbs flew up behind me.

"No, no, no, no, no, no!" As scary as my mom was, I didn't want the orbs to attack her!

"Are these the devices?" she demanded, not realizing that they were about to attack.

"Mom, stay five feet away from me." I warned. She didn't listen.

"Excuse me? You do not tell me what to do. I will stand wherever I-Ahhhh!" The orbs shot her back and she flew into the wall.

"Mom!" I shouted, running towards her. Eddy appeared on the screen above her.

"It's about time somebody invented something useful around here." He said. I glared at him, then looked back at my mom.

"Are you alright?" I asked worriedly. She glared at me.

"Do you think I'm alright?" she demanded. I helped her onto the couch. "What just happened?" she demanded.

"How much do you remember?" I asked, trying to think of a way I could convince her not to yell at me.

"Leo!" She snapped.

"Okay, the orbs I invented shot you across the room because they can't tell the difference between a real threat and a mom threat." I told her. She looked at me angrily. "I'm not saying you're not threatening! You're scary!"

She looked at me. "I want you to get rid of them, now." She ordered.

"Good news Tasha!" Eddy exclaimed suddenly. "You went viral!"

We looked at him screen to see the clip of my mom flying across the room playing on it. My mom frowned at it as I brought it up on my phone.

"I don't know why you're so upset. You're going to knock Puppy Farts right out of the top spot."

** Chase's POV **

I walked into the store to see Scott doing that weird thing he called running. I stopped him as he reached me. "Hold it, Scott!" I turned to face the crowd. "Hello everybody. I'm back."

They all turned away with a groan. "No, no, no. I have a new app." I told them, expecting applause. Their groans just grew louder.

"Say hello to your new BFF Cheddy, your virtual assistant that does everything." I showed them the phone. Calla and Bree looked at me.

"Is that Eddy with a moustache?" Calla whispered to Bree. I ignored them, and started to demonstrate the app.

"Hello Cheddy, what's going on tonight?" I asked.

"Good evening Chase. I've ordered your favourite pizza, got you VIP concert tickets and completed all current homework assignments. Is there anything else, sir?"

I smiled. "That will be all Cheddy." I turned off the app and looked back at the crowd. "He's available for downloading now."

Almost everyone in the rom rushed to download him. Bree and Calla pulled me aside.

"What do you think you're doing?" Calla demanded. "That is Mr. Davenport's technology."

"No." I replied. "He created  _Eddy_. This is  _Cheddy._ " Couldn't they tell the difference.

"We don't ch-care! You ch-stole his ch-idea!" Bree exclaimed.

"Cheddy is the original version of Eddy. Which was actually a very helpful program. It took years for him to turn into the jerk we all know and loathe."

"It is still Eddy." Bree told me.

"You're not listening!" I spat at her. "It's Cheddy!"

** Leo's POV **

"Now, stay!" I ordered, pointing at my very violent inventions. My mom walked in a second later.

"Leo, it's time to go to the play." She stopped when she saw the orbs in the capsules. "Why are those things still here? I thought I told you to get rid of them hours ago!"

I bit my lip. "Yes, but I ran into a little problem."

"What's the problem?" she asked.

"I can't turn them off." I told her. She looked at me.

"What?" She demanded. "That's it. I'm calling Donald."

"No!" I stopped her. "I need to show him I can do things on my own. Don't worry. I will figure something out after the play."

"You'd better." She warned me. "I can't handle anymore disasters."

I frowned at her. "You do realize that we're going to see a play with Adam in it, right?"

She frowned, but didn't object to the insult.

** Chase's POV **

I grinned as I watched the download counter that showed our apps on it. Mine was in the lead, with ten times the amount of downloads that Scott had. My boss off pouting in a corner, seriously depressed that I was going to win.

"Ha!" I said to Bree. "My app is outselling Scott's ten to one. How's it feel to be related to the guy that's going to win?"

"As embarrassing as ever." She replied.

"What are you so proud about? It's Mr. Davenport's creation." Calla reminded me.

"Guys, people in the tech world borrow ideas from each other all the time. I doubt he'd even care." I told them. Calla smiled.

"Well he's coming this way. Why don't you ask him?" She asked me. I turned around to see Mr. Davenport walking towards us.

"Mr. Davenport, what are you doing here?" I demanded. He looked at us and did not look happy.

"You won't believe this, but somebody stole Eddy and is selling him as Cheddy on the Tech Town website!" He shouted.

"What?" I acted surprised. "That's terrible!"

"I know it's terrible!" Mr. Davenport replied, using the same high pitched voice as I was.

"You should go rest." I told him, before Bree or Calla could tell him the truth. "I'll call the app police."

"No, I'm not leaving until I find out who did it." He replied, sitting down on one of the counters. "You know what? Perhaps I should speak to a manager!"

Judging by his tone of voice, I guessed that he already knew who stole the technology. But I still tried to hide it anyway.

"There's no reason-" "I'll get him!" Bree sang, interrupting me. She walked over, and dragged Scott over.

"May I help…oh it's you." Scott sneered, recognizing Mr. Davenport.

"Yeah, it's me." Mr. Davenport replied. "And I have a problem with 'Cheddy'."

Scott smiled. "Oh, hear that Chase? He has a problem with your Cheddy app. Ha-ha! I'll let you handle this one." He kicked the air then left, leaving me alone with an angry Mr. Davenport, and two smug girls.

"Chase, I'm really disappointed with you." Mr. Davenport told me. "You stole Eddy!"

"Oh no, Mr. Davenport. You're not listening. It's  _Cheddy_." Bree told him, smiling gleefully. She was enjoying this way too much.

** Leo's POV **

"Leo." A voice was calling to me, dragging me out of my pleasant dreams. "Leo!"

I shot up immediately, finding myself sitting in the middle of Janelle's play. Crap! I must have fallen asleep! Remembering what I promised her earlier, I jumped to my feet.

"Go smallpox!" I shouted, raising my hands. Everyone stared at me. "Come on people, you have to get your hips into it!" I started wiggling my hips until my mom pulled me down into my seat.

At least I woke up in time to see Adam's scene. He galloped onto the stage, pretending to be riding an miniature horse on a stick.

"This is it." My mom whispered to me. "Adam's big line."

Adam took a drink from his canteen as Janelle walked up to him. "Excuse me, good sir. I'm on a mission to find a creek. Pray tell, have you seen one?"

Adam smiled, opened his mouth and…

Nothing came out. He stood there for a second, then "Line?"

"M'am, you're standing in it!" My mom whispered.

"Quiet Tasha, I'm trying to do a play!" Adam hissed at her, then stood there, trying to think of his line.

** Chase's POV **

"Look, I know you're angry, but if you hadn't invented Eddy, then I couldn't have invented Cheddy." I said to Mr. Davenport. "So, in a way, this is all on you."

Bree, Calla and Mr. Davenport all looked at me as if I was crazy and I have to admit, that wasn't my best excuse. "Taking credit for what isn't yours is wrong! Especially when what isn't yours is mine!" Mr. Davenport exclaimed.

"Yes, I know." I agreed. "But everybody loves Cheddy and if I tell them that it wasn't mine, it could crush my reputation."

"Chase, you're young. You'll recover." Mr. Davenport assured me. "Or maybe you won't. I really don't care."

"Again, I'll go get the manager." Bree offered, running off to find Scott. I sighed.

"How did you even find out?" I asked. Mr. Davenport didn't say anything, but glanced towards Calla. "Calla?"

"I'm sorry." She didn't sound too sorry. "But it's part of my job to inform him about things like this. And I'm not losing my job just so you can beat Scott."

"I guess you're right." I muttered as Bree and Scott walked over.

"What?" Scott asked.

"This is really difficult for me to say…" I started. Bree, once again, interrupted me.

"He didn't create the Cheddy app, he stole it." She told him. "See, easy?"

With that finally bit of mockery, she went off to help another customer. Scott looked at me.

"Is that true?" he asked. I nodded.

"It's Mr. Davenport's." I admitted. "I didn't want to lose, so I tried to pass his technology off as my own."

"You know Chase, admitting that was very big of…your sister." Scott said. "Now, it's time for my victory app."

He started running around the store, just as Bree walked over to me. "Your night's about to get worse, Chase. Everyone who bought the Cheddy app wants their money back." She told me. I frowned.

"What? Why?" I asked. Suddenly, Eddy's voice was coming from every part of the store. But instead of it being helpful, polite Cheddy, it was rude and cruel Eddy. "Oh no! Cheddy's using the computing power of all these devices to snarky Eddy faster."

"Never mind that." Mr. Davenport told me, pulling out his own phone. "You also forgot that Eddy's software is self-replicating. He's going to start infecting other devices soon."

I watched as Eddy's face appeared on many of the computer and phone screens throughout the store. "I think he already has."

He appeared on the massive monitor behind Mr. Davenport. "Hey look! Now I'm annoying in HD!" he cheered.

"How are we going to shut this thing down?" I asked.

"Well, we're going to have to delete the app at its source." Mr. Davenport replied. "I can reset Eddy's mainframe from here…unless you stole my app that does that too!"

I sighed. He was not going to let me off the hook for this. "Okay, as soon as I shut down and reboot the lab's network, we should all be Cheddy-free."

He pressed the button on his IPad and Eddy's screen started to dissolve back into the Tech Town logo. "What's happening?" Eddy cried. "I'm pixellating! I'm pixellating!"

Everyone cheered once Cheddy was gone for good. "The Cheddy app is deleted, crisis averted." Mr. Davenport sighed. He pointed at me. " Except for you. Your crisis is just beginning."

Bree cheered. "Victory lap!" She exclaimed before running out of the store. She kicked the air before she left, just to mock Scott.

** Leo's POV **

Trent stopped me on my way back into the gym after intermission. He did not look happy with me.

"Trent…hey." I greeted nervously.

"I was fake nice to you and you blasted me!" He exclaimed. "The school board says that I can't torture you 'physically', but they didn't say anything about taking your ticket and ruining your life."

With that, he grabbed my ticket out of my hand, threw it towards the punch bowl, and ran into the gym. The second I turned to go get the ticket, he slammed the gym doors. I ran up to them, trying to open them, but he was holding them closed.

"I can't believe I'm actually fighting to get into this thing." I muttered to myself, before slamming my hand on the door.

"Alright Trent, you leave me with only one choice. I'm breaking the doors down." I warned him.

"Oh no, please don't." He replied in a mockingly small voice.

"Here I come!" I called as I ran at the doors. They flew open with easy when I touched them, and I ended up sprawled on the ground in front of everyone.

"You totally fell for it!" Trent exclaimed. He must have stepped back when I ran, which is why there was no resistance when I hit the doors. Suddenly, he stopped. "Oh no. Oh, the flying balls of doom!"

I looked up and saw my attack orbs. But hadn't I locked them down in the lab? How did they escape? "How'd they get out?" I wondered aloud.

The orbs focused on Trent. He panicked and ran for the door, pushing past people. "Out of my way! You're all losers!" he shouted as he tried to get to the exit doors.

The orbs started shooting at him, but he used different play props to defend himself. He stumbled onto the stage, using Adam as a shield. Janelle watched in horror from behind a curtain. "DOOLEY! MAKE IT STOP!"

I ran onto the stage. "Adam, help!" I begged.

"No, you help!" He shot back. "Go ask someone what my line is!"

I stared at him. Seriously? "Leo! Do something!" My mom shouted from behind one of the chairs.

"Working on it, Mom!" I called. I leapt upwards, grabbing onto the nearest orb. It hovered me above the crowd, flying everywhere. People below me started to panic. Janelle walked up to me.

"You are ruining my play!" She exclaimed.

"I am flying around on a metal ball!" I informed her. "Can we please not turn on each other now?"

Then it hit me. "That's it. I can make them turn on each other." I realized.

I twisted midair, forcing the orb I was holding to point at the other. They both focused on each other, ready to blast. I dropped to the ground and half a second later, the orbs each sent a laser at each other. They both blew up.

"What did we miss?" I looked up to see Big D run through the door with Bree, Calla and Chase right behind him. My mom glared at him.

"Oh!" Adam suddenly exclaimed. We all looked at him. "M'am, you're standing in it!"

We all started clapping, mainly because most of us thought he would never get the line correct.

** Xxx **

"Leo!" I looked up from my desk as Big D ran into the lab. He was holding what was left of my attack orbs.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"These orbs are some of the best work you've ever done." He told me.

"They tried to kill everyone." I reminded him.

"When you invent things, you learn through failure. And while this was an epic failure – I mean probably the worst failure I've ever seen and wow, people were running – it was also, if you let it be, an epic learning experience."

I sighed. "I guess." I agreed.

"You know, it's a long road up that mountain of my genius." Big D told me, his hand on my shoulder.

"I know. I'll get there." I told him.

"Well, now you're just talking crazy." He replied, handing me the orb's remains.


	7. Principal From Another Planet

**Calla's POV**

"This is going to be so awesome." I grinned at Chase from my spot on the couch. He was in the kitchen, arranging food pellets on a plate.

"I know!" He exclaimed. "I still can't believe your mom's letting you stay here overnight just to watch it."

"Both Jay and I got straight As on our midterm report cards, so she's rewarding us. I think Jaden mentioned something about going to see a baseball game with some of his friends next week." I explained. Chase nodded, then looked over my shoulder.

"Hey Adam!" he called.

"What's going on?" Adam asked.

"We're having a viewing party for tonight's lunar eclipse!" Chase exclaimed. Adam looked around.

"Yep, no girls except for Calla. Definitely a Chase party." Adam grinned.

"It's going to be epic!" Chase continued as if Adam hadn't insulted him. "I even prepared an out of this world feast. These are freeze-dried food pellets, just like the ones astronauts eat. Each cube contains an entire meal. This," he held one up "is turkey, peas, and mashed potatoes."

He popped it into his mouth. Adam picked one up off the plate and looked at it.

"Wow. Congrats Chase. You actually found a way to ruin food." Adam informed him. Chase grinned.

"No!" He exclaimed, his mouth full. "I made it better!"

Adam stared at him. "Oh really?" Chase nodded. "Food fight!"

He threw the pellet at Chase. It bounced harmlessly off his chest. "See, that's just lame." Adam complained. I smirked.

Chase ignored him and popped another food pellet into his mouth. I stopped him as he reached for another one. "Chase, those pellets contain a full meal each. You've already had four." I reminded him. "Don't you think that's enough?"

"Don't worry Calla." Chase told me, eating another one. I shrugged.

"Don't come crying to me when your stomach feels like it's about to explode." I teased. He smirked and put the plate down.

"Happy?" He asked. I smiled as he leaned down to kiss me. I pressed my lips to his just as Mr. Davenport ran in.

"Hurry up guys! You're going to miss the lunar eclipse!" He exclaimed just as our lips parted. "I haven't been this excited since the meteor shower of ninety-eight! WHOO!"

Chase and I raced outside. I leaned down and looked through the telescope at the night sky. The sight of the partially red moon was incredible. "This is amazing!" I exclaimed. "Why can't the moon look this cool every night?"

"It's my turn to see!" Chase exclaimed. I moved back to let him have his turn, but Mr. Davenport ran into him, pushing my boyfriend out of the way so that he could see for himself.

"No, it's my turn." Mr. Davenport corrected.

"Let me see, let me see." Chase pleaded, pushing Mr. Davenport aside,

"I want to see!" Adam exclaimed, pushing Chase to the side. "Ah, cool!" Adam looked at Mr. Davenport. "What am I looking at?"

We all sighed. "Adam, a lunar eclipse is a rare and breath taking event. The moon is passing directly behind the earth, blocking the light that normally illuminates it." Mr. Davenport explained.

"Wow." Adam looked at him. "Nothing more exciting than a slow moving shadow."

"Watching a lunar eclipse takes time and patience." I told him. "We're going to be here all night."

"Oh, great. It's like a sleepover, minus the fun." Adam grinned. Chase pushed him away from the telescope just as Bree walked in.

"What are you guys doing?" Bree asked.

"Looking at the lunar eclipse." Chase replied. Bree grinned.

"Cool! Let me see!" She exclaimed excitedly, pushing Chase onto the ground so she could look through the telescope.

"OH COME ON!" Chase shouted in frustration. Adam smirked.

"Now that's worth watching." He said before looking through the telescope with Bree and Mr. Davenport.

I sighed and offered Chase a hand. I pulled him to his feet. "Come on. Let them have their turn now, and we'll get ours later."

"Fine." We walked into the living room just as Leo came in. He was holding his camera.

"Hey Calla, want to help me with something?" He asked. Videotaping random things had become sort of a thing for us. I think it started when we started investigating Marcus', but now it was just something we did for fun half the time.

"Sure." I kissed Chase quickly before following Leo. "Okay, what are we taping tonight?"

Leo explained exactly what he wanted to film. I rolled my eyes. "Seriously?"

He nodded. "Seriously. Now start filming!"

"Fine." He handed med his camera and I pointed it on him.

"Leo Dooley and Calla Parker's video log of the lunar eclipse." Leo told them camera. "We're recording tonight's events as they happen in real time. No editing, no filters and no special effects."

For emphasis, I turned the camera towards Mr. Davenport. He was dealing with his aching back. "That's right folks; he's as old as he appears." I joked before turning off the camera.

"What are you guys filming anyway?" Chase asked, walking in from the hall. He was eating another one of those food pellets.

"We're filming the bizarre events that happen during lunar eclipses." Leo replied. "Lakes go dry, rivers turn red-"

"People won't stop talking?" Adam added as he and Bree walked into the living room. They sat down on the couch next to Chase.

"Calla, Leo, please don't tell me that you guys believe in all that lame folklore." Mr. Davenport requested, walking in.

"It's not folklore. It's true." Leo objected. "During the last eclipse, I saw a bird fly backwards and no one believed me."

We all sighed. Not this again. "It's not that we didn't believe you." Bree told him. "We just…don't care about the things you say."

Leo glared at her. "Leo, eclipses are astronomical events, okay?" Mr. Davenport told him. "It's not witch craft, it's science."

"That doesn't mean he's wrong though." I commented. Everyone looked at me.

"Not you too!" Chase complained. I rolled my eyes.

"Yes, me too." I replied. Mr. Davenport looked at me.

"Seriously? I thought you were above believing in all that crazy stuff." He questioned. I shrugged.

"I'm not saying that I believe in magic or backward flying birds. But like Leo said, a lot of weird things happen during lunar eclipses. That's can't be just a coincidence."

"Yes, it can." Mr. Davenport argued. "Trust me, nothing bad is going to happen tonight."

Just then, Principal Perry ran through the door. "And I spoke too soon." Mr. Davenport added.

"Quick, everybody hide!" Principal Perry hissed, diving behind the couch. "Get down, get down, get down."

We all stared at her. "Principal Perry, what's wrong?" Chase asked, bewildered as to what she was doing.

"It might be faster to ask her what's right." Bree told him. Principal Perry took a deep breath, and stood up.

"Okay, I was up on my neighbour's roof, 'borrowing' their solar panels, when I saw it." She said.

"Saw what?" Leo demanded curiously.

"The space craft." Principal Perry whispered. Adam, Leo and I were hanging onto her every word. "The aliens are using the lunar eclipse to hide their space ship an invade earth."

Okay, while I believed that there was a great possibility of life on other planets, an alien invasion seemed a little farfetched. Adam obviously believed her though.

"Yeah, I read about this in line at the supermarket. It's true. Aliens live among us." He told everyone. "Oh, and Ryan Seacrest has a great meatloaf recipe. The secret; crackers."

Leo and I stared at him. "Oh my god." I breathed. "Adam actually read something."

"You see?" Leo looked at everyone. "You see? I told you! Weird things are happening tonight. First, Principal Perry sees a space ship, and then Adam claims to have read something."

"Look, there are no such things as aliens!" Mr. Davenport exclaimed. "It's all made up! There's a reason it's called science fiction!"

"Hey! I know UFOs!" Principal Perry argued. "I spent a LOT of nights sleeping alone in the desert and not just because my family dumped me there and drove off."

I hid my smirk behind my hand. "Can we do that?" I whispered to Chase. Principal Perry glared at me.

"I heard that, nerd girl!" She snapped. "And I definitely saw a space ship tonight!"

"Just like the time you definitely saw Bigfoot?" Chase questioned. "It ended up just being your toes in a mirror."

"It was dark!" Principal Perry objected. "Look! I know what I saw! And when the aliens invade, I'm going to be safely barricaded in your underground lab!"

She ran off, trying to find the entrance to the lab. "Well, on the bright side," Adam said with a smile "a girl other than Calla showed up to Chase's party."

"Seriously? Did you really have to go there?" Chase demanded, glaring at his brother. I smirked.

"Oh, did you want other girls here?" I asked curiously. He looked at me, fearful.

"Uh, no. No, of course not. But he didn't really need to make that comment." He said quickly. I smiled.

"Nice save." I patted his shoulder. "Now come on. Let's go make sure Perry hasn't broken anything expensive."

When we got down to the lab, Principal Perry had stacked a desk, a large shelf, my chair, and several other objects around her like a shield. She looked up when we walked in.

"Don't anybody move!" she ordered.

We stopped. "Why not?" Big D sighed in annoyance.

"I want to remember exactly what you look like before you get ripped apart by aliens." She replied. We all stared at her.

"Do you have any redeeming qualities?" Bree questioned.

Principal Perry slowly made her way out of her fort. "Does having violent mood swings considered redeeming?" She asked. We all exchanged silent looks. "I ASKED YOU A QUESTION!"

"Okay!" Big D exclaimed. "I'm going to put this whole alien nonsense to rest with real science."

He walked over to the consol and brought up a video of the lunar eclipse. "This is NASA's live satellite feed of the lunar eclipse. And as you maniacs can see-"

"Wait! Something just moved in front of the moon! Right there in the shadow." Leo interrupted him, pointing at the screen. We all looked at the screen closely. Sure enough, there was a fast moving blur in the dark part of the eclipsed moon.

"He's right." Chase sounded surprised.

"It's the space ship!" Principal Perry cried. "Like an infected mole, I can spot them a mile away! Or a foot away, because I've got a chunk of them on my hands."

"Eww." "Did not need to know that." Bree and I complained, disgusted.

"I'm sure there's a simple explanation for that." Mr. Davenport sighed, referring to the blur. "It's probably just space debris."

"No, trust me. I watch a lot of alien documentaries." Principal Perry told us. "This is the first phase of their plan."

Leo walked over to her, eyes wide. "What plan?" he questioned. "Calla, video tape this!"

I pulled out the camera and focused it on Principal Perry. "Look at the lens, but please direct your breath that way." I instructed, pointing to my left. She did as I asked.

"First, they hover and analyze the planet, then they infect someone and use their body as a host to multiply, and then-" Mr. Davenport went into the camera's view as she spoke.

"And then the movie ends and everyone goes home." He finished. He smiled at Principal Perry. "Good night, crazy."

"No, let her finish!" Leo stopped him. By this point, Adam was listening in too, intrigued.

"And then," Principal Perry continued, "the infected human lays eggs and in a few days, they take over the planet!"

Adam and Leo both gasped theatrically. "You guys can not be taking this seriously! Why are you gasping?"

Adam shrugged. "I enjoy a good gasp. I'm a gasper." He replied.

Suddenly, a loud groan came from Chase's stomach. I looked at him and saw that his face was scrunched up in pain. "What was that?" I questioned.

"My stomach's killing me." He complained. I raised an eyebrow.

"Could it be because of all those astronaut pellets you ate? Despite me telling you that you shouldn't?" I asked. Chase glared at me, then held his stomach as it groaned loudly again.

"Or…you were infected by an alien!" Principal Perry accused, pointing at Chase's stomach. Adam and Leo gasped again.

"I was not infected by an alien!" Chase shouted. Leo looked at him suspiciously.

"How could you be sure?" he asked. "You were gone for fifteen minutes."

"AHA!" Principal Perry exclaimed.

"I was in the bathroom! Should I invite you next time?" Chase snapped. His stomach groaned loudly again.

"I'm telling you. It's only a matter of time before his stomach explodes and five eggs pop out!" Principal Perry said, backing up. "Six if he's the queen."

"He's not an alien, let alone an alien queen." I objected.

"Wait, you think that Chase here is just going to start squirting out alien squid babies?" Bree questioned, smirking in amusement. Adam put his fist over his mouth.

"I'm going to be an uncle." He had proud tears in his eyes.

"He's not having any alien children!" I exclaimed. Seriously, where did they get these ideas?

"There's only one way to find out what's going on in there." Principal Perry decided. "I'm going to need two clamps, a roll of paper towels, and a machete."

She charged at Chase, who ran for his life. We all ran after them, trying to stop Principal Perry from dissecting my boyfriend.

"Leave me alone!" Chase shouted, running into the living room.

"I'm not going to hurt you." Principal Perry assured him. "I'm just going to split you open and destroy the alien babies inside of you!"

Chase screamed and ran behind the counter while Mr. Davenport ran in front of Principal Perry to stop her. "Chase has not been infected by an alien, so calm down Captain Kirk."

"Hey!" Principal Perry snapped. "I've been around enough truck stops at three am to know when something weird is going on and trust me, there's a bunch of E.T living in his little boy guts!"

She ran forward and grabbed Chase around his waist. Leo and I started pulling on Chase's arm while Adam and Bree were pulling on Perry's. We still couldn't get her to release her death grip on Chase.

"I don't know what's more shocking!" Bree exclaimed. "Perry thinking Chase is an alien or two bionic people struggling to subdue her!"

We finally managed to free Chase. Perry stumbled over to the counter when we pushed her away.

"Hey, what if Chase really was taken over by aliens?" Adam asked. "They're going to say 'take me to your leader' but he is our leader. This is so confusing."

"Stop it." Mr. Davenport ordered. "You guys are being ridiculous…"

I stopped listening then, and watched in both shock and disgust as a dark, smelly green liquid started dripping out of Perry's ears.

"Hey, what's that?" I asked, drawing everyone's attention.

"What's what?" Chase asked, confused. I pointed to the liquid.

"That gross stuff oozing out of her ears." I replied. They all frowned at it, just as confused as I was. Perry wiped some of it onto her hand.

"Probably just another infection from the bacteria in Lake Mission Creek." She shrugged. "Every Sunday, me and the gals go bare hand trout wrangling."

She sniffed the liquid, then wiped it on her sweater. "Eww, it's dripping all over the floor." Chase groaned. Adam looked at it.

"I want to lick it." We had to stop him from licking the disgustingness. Mr. Davenport walked over to Principal Perry and bent down so that he was eye level with her.

"Principal Perry, I'm very concerned about you…" For a second, I thought enough of the others' selflessness had rubbed off on him that he actually cared for other people. I was wrong. "…making a mess in my house. Out. Let's go."

He and Leo started to lead her out of the house. She stopped at the door. "I'm fine!" she insisted. Then, something changed.  _"This planet is ours now!"_

The voice that came out was not her own. It was deeper, scarier. "That's probably just the bacteria talking." Bree suggested. Perry growled at us, light green slime pouring out of her mouth and onto the carpet. We all looked at Mr. Davenport for an explanation.

"Everyone calm down. There is no such thing as aliens." Mr. Davenport told us. I don't think any of us believed him.

Principal Perry roared just then. It was a loud, menacing, inhumane sound. Mr. Davenport looked at her for a second, then fainted onto the couch.

I felt Chase's hands wrap around my waist and pull me towards him. "You know what?" Leo asked, grabbing Chase and Adam's wrists. "We're just going to be back here. Carry on with your alien stuff."

He pulled us all behind the couch. I glanced at Mr. Davenport, then at my bottle of water on the coffee table. "Hey babe? Would you mind waking him up?" I asked. Chase saw my gaze, and nodded. He raised his hand, the other was still securely around me, and used his telekinesis to lift the bottle. He made it hover above Mr. Davenport. Then it turned in mid air, dumping the water onto my boss' face. He woke up with a startled cry.

"What's…oh." Mr. Davenport realized the situation in a millisecond, and leapt over the couch to join us. We watched in horror as Perry walked into the kitchen, speaking in a language that none of us understood.

"Do you have a scientific explanation for that?" Leo demanded, looking at Mr. Davenport.

"Well, it is cold and flu season." He replied nervously. Perry opened her mouth and a large, disgusting tongue shot out, licking Mr. Davenport in the face. We all screamed.

"Do you still think it's a cold?" Bree demanded.

"Nope. I'm on board. She's an alien." Mr. Davenport agreed, running behind Leo to use him as a shield.

" _My spawn will wipe out human kind!"_  The alien roared. Perry started to spasm then, freaking us all out more than we were a minute ago. "Hey, why's everyone staring at me?"

It was Perry's voice this time, not the alien's. "You have a little something on your…everywhere." Leo managed to speak when none of us could find our voices.

"Babe, tell me you have an explanation for this." I looked at Chase hopefully. He sighed.

"Obviously, Principal Perry has been taken over by an alien." I had no clue how he could say that so calmly. "And she doesn't realize that it's wrestling for control of her body."

"Wow. The aliens want her?" Adam was stunned. "Man, how bad are things on that planet?"

"Who knows?" I shrugged. "Maybe her disgustingness reminds them of home."

Chase smirked. "Maybe." He agreed.

"I'm starving!" Perry exclaimed, interrupting our conversation. "I feel like I'm eating for six!"

"She's eating for six!" Mr. Davenport hissed. "She's going to have alien babies. I don't want to see that! Don't make me see that!"

"None of us want to see that, so quiet down!" I ordered. Great, there were only two adults in the building. One of them was possessed by an alien, and the other was having a panic attack. Looks like it was up to us to save the day. Again.

Perry spasmed again and trudged towards the kitchen. "Family meeting!" Chase declared, grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the door with him.

"This is bad, this is bad, this is really, really bad!" Mr. Davenport exclaimed, looking a little crazy as he did so. "What do we do?"

"Well, I guess we can check panicking off the list!" Leo shouted.

"Okay, alright! We need to subdue Perry until we can find a way to get the alien out!" Chase decided. We looked at said principal, who was eating the pizza box.

"I'm pretty sure the alien wants out of her too." Bree exclaimed. "I mean, it can not be good in there."

Meanwhile, Mr. Davenport was having a mental break down. "Aliens exist?" he muttered. "Everything I know about the universe is wrong! If I can't trust science, I don't even know what's real anymore! Am I even good looking?"

I forced myself not to answer that one. I figured he'd gotten enough bad news today.

"I'm a little bit more concerned about the way that she looks!" Bree exclaimed. I turned and gasped when I saw Perry. Several parts of her skin had been replaced by what looked like green, mouldy patches.

"AHH!" We all screamed.

"Alright! We need to get her down to the lab and get her trapped in a capsule!" Chase shouted. "Maybe then we can figure out a way to save her!"

"Wait, wait, wait." Adam stopped us. "If aliens and Perry are wrestling for control of her body, maybe Perry will win."

We looked at Perry. She took a massive bite out of a porcelain plate and swallowed it. "Does it look like she's winning?" Leo growled. I looked at the others, wide eyed.

"The alien's actually beating Perry. A grizzly bear couldn't beat Perry. I'm fairly certain that a T-Rex couldn't beat Perry. But this thing can?" The thought of there being something scarier and stronger than Perry made me shake in my boots.

Perry took another bite of the plate. "How are we supposed to get her down to the lab?" Bree questioned. I smirked.

"I have an idea." I told them. I looked to the sky. "God, please don't let the scary alien eat me."

Then I jumped over the couch, ran forward, and grabbed the set of plates. Perry locked her eyes on me, but I was already running back to safety. I shoved the plates into Adam and Leo's hands. "We can use this as bait." I told them. "While you guys lead her down there, we're going to be down in the lab! Use the main door, we'll use the back one."

"Right." They agreed. Bree, Chase, Mr. Davenport and I snuck down to the lab while Adam and Leo started baiting her with the plates.

"That was quick thinking." Chase commented while we waited for them. I smiled at him.

"Thanks." I grinned. The lab doors slid open and Adam and Leo backed into the lab. Perry was barely a foot in front of them, staring with greedy eyes at the plate in Adam's hands.

"Lead her right into the capsule, Adam." Chase instructed. Leo, meanwhile, was videotaping the whole thing.

"We watch in wonder as the alien devours the last of my mother's wedding china." He declared. Perry took a bite of the plate, then froze. She spasmed again for a second, then looked around in confusion.

"Hey, why am I eating a plate?" she asked, obviously back to her normal self (if you can call it that). She felts the patches on her face. "What's going on with my skin? It's clearing up!"

"She's back to normal Perry. What do we do now?" Adam demanded. Chase looked around, trying to think of an idea. After a minute, he spun around and looked at Mr. Davenport, who had hidden himself in Perry's little fort.

"Hey, you got anything Mr. Davenport?" he asked desperately. He was still freaking out.

"It licked me." He was muttering. "It licked me."

"Well, he's obviously broken." I observed. Leo held the camera up so that the viewers could see Mr. Davenport.

"They say a crisis brings out the best in people. This is not one of those people." He said. Bree looked at Chase, smirking.

"Guys, if Perry still thinks that Chase is the alien, why don't we just use him as bait to trap her in one of the capsules."

"Great idea." Leo grinned. Judging by the look on Chase's face, he did not agree. Leo didn't notice however. "Chase, quick! Act like an alien!"

"What? I don't know how to act like an alien." He objected.

"Just try!" Bree ordered. Chase tensed up and let out a weird sort of sound. "That's a zombie." Bree told him. Chase stopped, then hissed.

"That's a vampire." I informed him. Chase sighed, then started acting weird, just like an alien might.

"That's you." Bree corrected him. Chase glared at her, while Bree and Adam ran to tell Perry that she was right. Leo and I decided to act like Chase was scaring us. Whatever Bree told Perry must have worked, because the principal began shooing Chase into a capsule. Chase ran in.

"Alright. I'm in my capsule, ready to be incinerated." He announced. Adam grinned.

"Great. I'll finish off Chase, then we'll deal with the alien." He decided. Bree stopped him by grabbing his arm.

"Great. The on switch is in that capsule." Leo pointed to the center capsule. "I'd push it, but ladies first." Perry didn't move. "That means you."

"Oh, right!" Perry ran towards the capsule. I ran over to my computer, ready to lock her in glass cage.

"We've got her!" I exclaimed. I reached for the button, only to be stopped by a large, green, three-fingered hand.

" _Not so fast!"_  The alien hissed. I screamed, pulling my hand away and holding it to my chest. I can't believe that thing actually touched me! Perry spasmed again, gaining back control. "Wow, it's hot in here." She said, wiping her forehead. Then she realized what had become of her hand.

"Ah!" She screamed. "What is that?"

"Oh come on! Have you not figured it out yet?" Adam demanded, clearly annoyed with her stupidity. Wow, that was a sentence I never thought I'd ever say. "There's a plate eating alien inside of you!"

"No!" Perry shouted, pounding on her stomach. "Get it out! Get it out!"

" _Leave it in! Leave it in!"_ The alien argued, trying to resist.

"Ahh! No, no!" Perry screamed, stumbling around the lab. "Don't worry! I can fight it off! When you have as many diseases as I have, you build up a lot of immunity!"

We watched the entire thing in stunned silence. After a couple of minutes, Adam sighed. "Guys, we're getting no where." He informed us.

"What's your bright idea?" Chase demanded. Adam shrugged.

"I don't know. Maybe if I hit her hard enough, the alien will just pop right out." He suggested.

"Don't you think that's a little extreme?" "Can we actually do that?" Bree and I asked at the same time.

" _Must multiply and conquer Earth!"_  The alien declared, having won the fight between itself and Perry.  _"Large forehead girl goes down first!"_

Bree and I looked at each other. "She's talking to you!" We both exclaimed in unison.

Adam ran forward then and tried to punch Perry. She grabbed his hand, stopping him, and pushed him back towards us.

"It's stronger than Adam!" Mr. Davenport screamed. "We're all goners!"

He then ran screaming down the hall. We all watched for a moment. "Any other bright ideas?" Chase asked.

Perry roared at us, causing us all to back up slightly. "Tell you what. You guys discuss, I've got a thing." Leo said before running down the hall. It didn't take much convincing for us to follow. We ran throughout the house, trying to escape Perry. But we couldn't shake her.

"GUYS WAIT!" Adam shouted at us, while we were running through the living room. We all stopped, including Perry. "My cooking show's on."

Perry roared at him. "I'll record it." He decided. He pressed a button on the remote, and we all continued running and screaming. Eventually, we managed to lose her by splitting up.

"Guys?" I whispered as Chase and I snuck down the stairs. Adam and Bree slowly walked out from the hall, while Leo and Mr. Davenport climbed out from beneath the stairs.

"I think we lost her." Leo whispered to his camera.

"Great, let's hop in the car and get out of here." Mr. Davenport decided.

"We can't." Chase objected. "If that alien gets out into the general population, there's no stopping her. A lot of people will die."

"Yes." Mr. Davenport agreed. "But none of those people will be me."

Suddenly, Perry growled at us from behind. We turned, saw her standing behind the window, and screamed. And we started running once more.

Hours later, we had managed to hide from Perry. We found her down in the lab, sleeping on her side. "Chowing down on all those plates must have really tuckered her out." I decided.

"She's sleeping. Now's our chance to trap her." Chase whispered.

"Good idea." Bree agreed. Leo stepped forward, his camera ready.

"I just want one close up." He whispered. We tried to stop him, but he ignored us, getting closer and closer to the alien.

"When the creature is at rest, it almost seems gentle." He whispered for the sake of our viewers. We all watched nervously, praying that it wouldn't wake up.

"Leo, be careful." Adam whispered.

"Shh! Don't wake it up!" Leo hissed back. Suddenly, Perry sat up and grabbed Leo by the shoulders. Leo started screaming, as did we. Perry started pulling Leo out of the room.

"Stop her! We can't let her escape!" Chase exclaimed. We started forward, but stopped when Perry started spewing some green liquid. Make that acid. She started spewing green acid. It burned a hole in the bottom of the lab floor, just as Perry dragged a shouting Leo out of the lab.

"I'm filming my own demise!" He shouted before being wrenched from our sights. We all ran after them, carefully stepping over the smoking acid. Then I realized that someone was missing.

"Wait a minute." I told Chase, before jogging back to the lab. Mr. Davenport was cowering in the middle of it. "We're waiting!" I shouted.

"Oh, so we're all going?" He sounded surprised. I rolled my eyes and decided to leave him there. I ran after the others as they followed the path of green slime to…to the school? Why would an alien go there?

When we walked in, we found Leo leaning up against the stairwell wall. He was covered in green goo. "Leo? What are you doing?" Chase demanded.

"Oh, you know, just chilling." Leo replied, totally relaxed. "Hanging out in an alien web, waiting for the alien eggs to hatch AND EAT ME!"

I stared at the three, large eggs sitting in the center of the room. They were massive, the size of a hornet's nest, and were covered in bits of green goo.

"Where did those come from?" Bree demanded.

"Well, it wasn't the Easter Bunny!" Leo snapped. Suddenly, Perry came roaring out of her office. We all hid behind the nearest banister.

"Those things are going to hatch soon and when they do, I'm dinner!" Leo exclaimed.

"No, dinner was hours ago. Technically you'd be a midnight snack." Adam corrected him. Leo didn't look like he cared.

"Wait!" Chase shouted suddenly. "Maybe we can keep her from multiplying! Adam, use your heat vision to take out the pods!"

Adam stepped out from behind the banister and glared at the alien eggs. He melted them with three quick blasts of his heat vision. Perry roared in shock, but before she could do anything, something incredible happened.

The ceiling above her burst open and a bright, almost blinding light shone in. We all stared at it, even Mr. Davenport who was hiding in the recycling bin. How he got there, I would never know. We watched as Perry spoke to the light. I didn't understand the language, nor could anyone else.

"The mothership must be able to sense danger." Mr. Davenport realized. "It's calling the alien home."

The light intensified, then disappeared altogether, Perry along with it. Leo fell to the ground, the alien web having disappeared too.

"I'm free!" He gasped. We were all still too busy staring at the hole to pay any attention to him.

"Wow. I can't believe they took Perry." Adam said. I smirked.

"I can't wait to go home and tell Jaden that our principal was abducted by an alien." I grinned. "He'll never believe me."

"She's gone forever." Mr. Davenport sighed. Apparently, not many of us were actually sad to see her go. That was sort of cruel, but who said that the truth had to be pretty?

"Well, I'm sure we'll miss her someday." Leo said. Suddenly, the light was back. Perry fell back to the ground with a loud thud. There was a note stuck on her back.

"Let me see that." Chase instructed. I darted forward, snatched the note from Perry, and handed it to him. "It's in an alien language."

"Can you translate it?" I asked curiously.

"Give me a second." Chase murmured. "'If this thing represents human kind," he read "'you can keep your planet. We're moving onto Mars.'"

"Wow." Mr. Davenport exclaimed. "They really are a higher intelligence."

**Xxx**

" _Wow." Mr. Davenport exclaimed. "They really are a higher intelligence."_

The end credits started to roll on screen. Leo smirked proudly and looked at us. "There you go. Bionic Family VS Alien Principal. What do you think?" He asked.

"Good job Leo. That is guaranteed to win this year's annual sci-fi movie festival."

Adam didn't seem too sure though. "Perry as an alien, yes. But three bionic teens…I don't buy it."

"I still think you need to change the name." I interjected. "It's too long."

"You know who really nailed it though?" Chase asked, ignoring me. "Mr. Davenport. I totally believed you were scared."

"Well, I am quite the actor." He grinned. "But in then end, it's going to take more than an alien to scare-AHHH!"

Leo had pulled out the fake alien hand we'd used in the film and swiped at Mr. Davenport's face. We all laughed at him, while he glared at Leo.


	8. Taken

** Chase's POV **

"So I'm pretty sure Jaden has no idea what we're planning." Calla said to me, smiling widely. "He's going to be so surprised!"

"You know, Adam, Bree, and I can help with the party." I offered, already knowing that she was going to turn me down.

"Chase, do you remember what happened the last time you tried to throw a surprise party?" She asked teasingly. I sighed. No one was ever going to let us forget that disaster. "All you guys have to do is show up with presents. Leo and I can handle the rest."

The two of us had just gotten home from school and were heading down to the lab. Jaden's birthday was in a week, and we were all supposed to be throwing him a surprise party. Well, Calla and Leo were. They made it very, very clear that me and my siblings were bad at party planning. Not that I blamed them. After that party we tried to throw Leo…well, maybe it was for the best that they did all the planning.

"So, do you think he's going to like the IPad you got him?" I asked as the lab doors opened and we walked in.

"Yeah, he'll…holy crap." She stopped, staring. I followed her gaze to see a sleek, black motorbike sitting in the middle of the room. Surrounding it were Adam, Bree, and Leo.

"Whoa! Sweet bike!" I exclaimed rushing over. Calla was at my heels, eyes wide. Knowing her, she was thinking something along the lines of:  _I'm SO going to take this for a test drive when no one's looking._

"Okay, tell me this is the new company vehicle." She begged, grinning. Mr. Davenport walked in, wearing black skinny jeans and a black motorcycle jacket.

"So, what do you think?" He asked, talking about his outfit. I looked at him seriously.

"I think you're begging for a gang of bikers to do rotten things to you." I replied. He rolled his eyes.

"Hey!" Bree suddenly exclaimed. "Are those my pants?"

Mr. Davenport grinned. "Not anymore." He replied, adjusting his jacket. Bree looked positively disgusted. Mr. Davenport didn't notice though.

"So, what do you think of the bike? I call her the Davencycle. She's got autopilot, laser-guided weapon systems, and a tiny little flower vase, to brighten your day." He pulled a flower out of his jacket it and put it in the small little vase.

We all grinned. Maybe, unlikely but maybe, he might let us take it for a spin. Adam laughed. "Just throw in a little basket for Chase to ride in and we're good to go."

I ignored that. Suddenly, there was a static sound and the monitor above Leo's desk turned on. It revealed our least favourite-psychopath, Douglas.

"Hello? Anybody home?" He chuckled, waving. I sighed in annoyance. What could he want this time?

"He hacked you again?" Leo demanded, looking at Mr. Davenport. "Would it kill you to spend forty bucks on some security software?"

"I'm already on it." Calla sighed, sitting down at her desk and starting to type.

"I love the new lab, Donny." Douglas said, glancing around the best he could from the monitor. "Oh, tunnels! Industrial, yet classy."

"Take a hint ex-brother." Mr. Davenport snapped. "There's a reason why none of us accepted your friend requests."

"I accepted it." Adam interrupted, chuckling. We all stared at him. "What? His updates are hilarious! 'Looking forward to a weekend of evil, ;)'"

To prove his point, Adam winked, then grinned. "Listen, I don't have a lot of time!" Douglas exclaimed, sounding frustrated. "Krane will be back soon. He went out to get his head waxed."

"Fascinating." Mr. Davenport replied sarcastically. He glanced at Calla. "Cut the connection."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait!" Douglas shouted. Calla stopped, her hand hovering above the button that would hang up on him. "This isn't another trick. You're in danger." Douglas told us. "Krane has completely lost it!"

"Oh, wow! So, the guy who keeps implanting himself with bionics is unstable?" I asked, sarcasm dripping from my voice. "Who could have seen that coming?"

"I'm serious." Douglas said. "Krane is using my technology to give himself new abilities I didn't even know were possible. He's a ticking time bomb and he sees you three as a threat."

"Hey! What about me?" "I'm dangerous!" Calla and Leo objected.

"Yeah, there's always a chance you two might faint on somebody." He admitted. Neither Calla nor Leo was pleased.

"Look, Adam, Bree, Chase…Calla and Leo can handle anything." Mr. Davenport growled. "And after everything you've done to our family, why should we trust you?"

Douglas had to stop and think. "Well…give me a minute…"

Calla smiled. "Take all the time you want." She told him before hitting the button. The monitor went black for a moment, then returned to its usual data screen.

"Douglas is up to something." Mr. Davenport muttered, stalking over to his computer. "He's obviously trying to distract us with this Krane guy."

"Maybe so, but what if he's telling the truth?" I asked. Bree nodded.

"We've seen Krane face to face. He's a total creep." She agreed.

"Yeah. Nice eyes though." Adam added. We ignored him.

"Trust me; this is exactly what Douglas wants." Mr. Davenport told us. "Don't fall for his trap. My brother is the real threat."

His tone left no room for argument. After a minute, Calla cleared her throat to end the silence. "So…who gets first dibs on riding the Davencycle?"

"Not on your life!" Mr. Davenport ran forward and wheeled the motorbike out of the room, leaving the rest of disappointed.

** Xxx **

"Where's Leo?" I asked, walking into the lab after breakfast.

"School." Bree replied. I chuckled.

"No, seriously? He took my lunch." I said. She smirked.

"Actually, that was me. And no, you're not getting it back." She teased. "And Leo really did go to school early. He said something about meeting Janelle before class so that they could go out Saturday night."

I nodded and walked over to where she and Adam sat. Last week, after hours and hours of pleading, we finally managed to convince Mr. Davenport to let us bring some furniture down to the lab to make it feel more cozy. All we had were two chairs, a couple of tables and a mini-fridge, but it made us feel like we had actual bedrooms, so it was pretty cool.

Anyway, Bree was texting someone. I figured it was Jaden because Bree had this big smile on her face. Adam was going through his lunchbox, trying to find something to eat. I pulled out my chemistry book for some light reading.

"Good news." We looked up as Mr. Davenport walked into the lab.

"We're kicking Chase off the team?" Adam asked excitedly. I gave him a look, not amused by his joke.

"No. Until I know what's going on with Douglas, nobody's going to school."

"Yes!" "Sweet!" "No way! I'm going to miss my chemistry test!" We all shouted. Bree smirked at me.

"Nerdiest sentence ever." She informed me. I rolled my eyes.

"Leo already left." Adam told Mr. Davenport, getting up. Mr. Davenport nodded.

"I sent Tasha to pick him up." He replied. I frowned, a thought occurring to me.

"What about Calla?" I asked. "If you're so worried about Douglas hurting us, what about her? He's already held her hostage once. Who's to say he won't do it again?"

"I'm not their father. I can't pull them out of school." He reminded us. He then saw the looks on our faces. "How about this? When Calla comes back here tonight for work, I'll let her borrow a few things from my weapons vault so that she can defend herself. And I'll give her a tracker so that if something does happen to her, we'll know where she is. Happy?"

I'd prefer for Calla to be safe with us, but since this was really the best he could do, I nodded. "Alright."

"Good. Now, I want to show you guys my new state of the art security fence that's capable of withstanding any threat, even bionic ones." He walked over to the main entrance to the lab. "Behold the-"

"Wait, let me guess." Bree interrupted him. "The Davenfence."

"No, that's lame." He chuckled. "This is the new cyber security perimeter Davenwall."

That wasn't lame at all, I thought sarcastically. "I control it remotely from my wristwatch." Mr. Davenport continued. He pressed his thumb to his watch and both entrances to the lab, the back and the front, revealed a light blue translucent wall.

"Lab security perimeter engaged." A robotic voice announced, the light from the walls disappearing.

"This little baby can only be turned on and off using my own personal thumb-print." He informed us. I smirked, seeing the flaw.

"Mr. Davenport, I applaud your efforts but I can easily break out of this thing using my fingerprint recognition app." I reminded him.

"Actually, you can't." He corrected. "I removed my fingerprints from your database."

I searched through my database and discovered that he was right. "Crap." I muttered.

"But I can go anytime I want, by wearing this." He pointed to his watch. Adam frowned.

"What if you lose the remote? We could be stuck in here forever!" He exclaimed. Mr. Davenport sighed.

"I'm not going to lose the remote." He assured my brother. He started to leave, but Adam stopped him.

"But what if it runs out of batteries?" He questioned.

"It doesn't use batteries." Mr. Davenport replied.

"But what if you lose your thumbs?" Adam asked, starting to get really worried.

"I'M NOT GOING TO LOSE MY THUMBS!" Mr. Davenport shouted, getting seriously annoyed. He quickly fled the lab before Adam could ask him anymore stupid questions.

Adam looked at us. "Just because he says it confidently, does not mean it can't happen."

Bree and I shrugged, deciding not to argue with him for out own sakes.

** Leo's POV **

"Please?" I begged again. Calla shook her head, pulling her bag out of her locker.

"No Leo. For the last time, I'm not going to write your Spanish essay for you!" She exclaimed. I sighed.

"Fine. But if I get an F, it's on you." I told her. She smirked.

"How will I live with the guilt?" She asked sarcastically. I rolled my eyes and turned around, intending on going to my Spanish class. I ended being face to face with Douglas.

"Ahh!" I shrieked, dropping my books. Then I tried to redeem myself. "I mean, ah." I corrected, my fists up and ready. Calla took the more violent approach. The second she saw Douglas, she reached into her bag and pulled out what looked like a miniature, silver laser gun. She pointed it at him, her other hand reaching into her pocket, likely trying to get to her phone.

"Relax." Douglas lifted his hands to show that he was unarmed.

"We are relaxed! I'm very relaxed! Let's do this, spiky! Let's get real!"

I charged at him, trying to punch him. He deflected my every blow. "Are you done?" he asked when I stopped. I glared at him in annoyance, but tried to act like I was winning.

"Ah. Giving up I see." I mused. Calla gave me a sideways look, her weapon still pointed at Douglas.

"What do you want?" She demanded. "And when you speak, keep in mind that we have the upper hand here. Two against one, and you're not even armed."

"Yeah, I noticed the weapon." He nodded at the thing in her hands. "Donny's design?"

"My own, actually. I've been carrying it with me since you kidnapped me and Jay the first time." She sneered. "So, what do you want?"

Douglas lowered his hands slowly. "You're both smart. You knew about me and Marcus long before anybody else, so you have to believe me about Krane."

I leaned in closer to Calla. "Let's hear him out." I whispered.

"Alright, talk." She ordered, lowering the weapon and putting it back in her bag.

"Krane and I used to be on the same page." Douglas explained, starting to walk around now that Calla's weapon was no longer pointed at him. "Get my kids back, use them to rob banks, pull scam…you know, garden variety bad guy stuff."

I nodded and Calla shrugged. "But  _I_  was never going to hurt them." He continued. We stared t him as if he'd lost his mind.

"Marcus tried to kill me!" "You held a gun to my head!" We exclaimed.

"I said them!" Douglas argued. We stared at him. "Listen, Krane is completely out of control. He's got a serious score to settle with the world, and now he has the bionics to do it."

I frowned. "Why does he want Adam, Bree, and Chase?" I questioned.

"He doesn't want them, he wants to destroy them. They're the only ones who can stand in his way." Douglas explained.

"He's going to kill them?" Calla asked, fists clenched.

"Look, I'm scared, kids." Douglas told us seriously. "And two should be too." He pulled out his phone. "Watch this."

He pressed play and what looked like an old person party appeared on screen. Calla and I both frowned, confused. What did that have to do with Adam, Bree, or Chase? Douglas merely chuckled. "Sorry, that's my thirty-ninth birthday party. We had a burger truck."

"Stop it." I told him. He hit a different button and a different video played.

The video was of a large, bald man. He was lying on what appeared to be a large medical table, with hundred of wires and tubes connected to it. The chair raised so that it was upright. He stepped off and raised his hands. Colourful energy seemed to burst from them, attacking the nearest objects.

Calla and I watched the scene with both horror and shock. "Yeah, that dude's no joke." I admitted.

"You're right about that. He's got to be ten, if not twenty times more powerful that the others." Calla agreed. She looked at Douglas. "But we do you want us to do?"

"Talk to my brother." He said, putting his hands on our shoulders. "He listens to you. He'll believe you."

Calla and I both nodded and Douglas started to leave. "Where are you going?" Calla called after him.

"I've got to get back before Krane blows a gasket." He replied. "Literally, he has one right under here." He pointed to a spot just under his collar bone, then left. I pulled out my phone and dialled Big D's number.

" _Hello?"_

"Big D, it's Leo. Listen-"

" _What? Speak up, I can't hear you."_

"It's Leo, listen. Douglas just came by the school and I hate to say it, but I think he's telling the truth about Krane."

" _Ha-ha! Just kidding, you got my voice mail. The beep's on you."_

Calla sighed in annoyance and pulled the phone out of my hand. "Krane, evil. Douglas, not lying. Your voicemail, stupid. Got it? Good."

She hung up and handed me back my phone. "So, what now?" She asked me. I was still staring at my phone.

"Who has a voicemail like that?" I demanded. She shrugged.

"He does. So, what now?" She repeated her question. I sighed.

"I guess we wait for him to call back." I replied. Calla nodded.

I tried to think for something that would distract us from this awful subject. I pointed at her bag. "You seriously built a handheld laser?" I questioned. She rolled her eyes.

"It's not a laser, Leo. It's my brand new, fully automatic-"

"If you say Calla-gun, I'm going to lose it." I warned her. She laughed.

"No, but I did consider it. It's my fully automatic Paragun. One hit from this will paralyse your legs. It always wears off after a couple of hours." She explained. "I've been testing it out on Jaden. He's not a fan."

"Why couldn't I test it out?" I complained. Calla smirked.

"Because I have some other things that you're going to help me test." She replied. I looked at her eagerly.

"Like what?" I asked. She thought about it.

"The exoskeleton 2.0, these really cool communication devices, MISS."

"MISS?" I repeated. She nodded.

"Trust me. That's going to be fun. You'll love it." She glanced at her watch. "Oh, crap! I'm late for my chemistry test! I can't miss that! I've got to go!"

I watched her run off in a hurry, wondering how many people would actually care whether or not they missed a chemistry test.

** Douglas' POV **

After my little visit with Leo and Calla, I had to make my cover story believable, so I headed to the supermarket that Krane and I usually went to. After picking up enough food to last us a few days, I headed back to our warehouse.

It wasn't the same one as before; Krane and I both expected the kids to come back to our old one, so we had to move. The new one was actually about a five minute drive from the school, scarily enough. I hated the idea of Krane being that close to the kids, but at least I could keep an eye on them easier.

I walked in, whistling cheerfully to keep up my façade. Krane was inside, fiddling with his bionic machine.

"Oh, hey. Sorry I'm late. I was at the grocery store." I told him. "The girl from the deli says hello."

"Nice try." Krane said, making me stop. "I know where you've been."

I sighed, wondering how he could possibly know. "Yeah, you got me. I talked to the assistants." I admitted. "But I was just trying to turn them over to our side."

Krane chuckled, much to my surprise. "Our side?" He repeated. "I work along now. I don't need you anymore."

That caught me off guard. "…okay. Well, you could have told me that before I gave you my share of this month's rent."

He didn't look amused. I gulped nervously. "Well…I guess I'll just get going then."

I started for the door. Suddenly, it was as if someone had grabbed me by the neck and started strangling me. I wasn't getting any air at all. I grabbed at my throat, realizing what was going on. I closed my eyes and went limp, praying that Krane would think I was dead.

** Leo's POV **

"Tell me!" I begged, following Calla out of the school cafeteria. All morning I'd been trying to convince her to give me a sneak peak of her new inventions, but so far she'd been tight lipped. I was ninety percent sure she was only keeping quiet because she knew it annoyed me.

"Please!" I begged again. Suddenly, my phone buzzed. It was a text from my mom. It read:  _Outside. Now._

"Well, she's obviously in a hurry." Calla mused, reading over my shoulder. I frowned.

"Let's go see what she wants." I said, leading the way outside. I saw my mom's car in the parking lot, but she wasn't in it.

"Where do you think-" I started, but a sudden pain erupted in the back of my head and everything went black.

** Chase's POV **

I looked away from my book, checking my phone. I had texted Calla twenty minutes ago, asking her how her day was going, but she hadn't responded. I shrugged it off. She must be in class.

I went back to my book, while Adam threw another object against the Davenwall. Bree watched, bored out of her mind. I did my best to ignore them, but it was hard to do.

"Awesome!" Adam chuckled as another object bounced off the wall. "Let's see what else I can throw."

I didn't even need to look up to know what he was thinking. "Don't even think about it." I told him, eyes on my page. Suddenly, my phone rang. My eyes lit up when I saw Calla's number appear on the screen.

"Hey beautiful." I greeted, a great big grin on my face.

" _I really hope that was meant for my sister."_  I frowned at the distinctly male voice.

"Jaden, why do you have Calla's phone?" I asked.

" _I found her backpack out on the curb, along with her phone and that STUPID Paragun. Leo's bag too."_

"Really?" It wasn't like either of them to just leave their things lying around where they could be stolen.

" _Yeah. Weird. Anyway, have you seen her?"_

"No, why?" I asked, confused.

" _She skipped her last two classes. I figured maybe there was a mission or something that they got called for."_

"Nope, no mission. Maybe she and Leo are just off doing something stupid. It wouldn't be the first time they skipped class because they wanted to test out an invention." I reminded him.

" _Yeah, I guess. If you see her though, tell her to call me. Oh, and that I've got her things."_

"Will do." I promised, hanging up. I frowned at Adam and Bree. "Have you guys seen or heard from Calla or Leo? Jaden can't find them anywhere."

They both shook their heads just as Mr. Davenport walked in.

"Something's wrong." He said, walking past us briskly. "Leo and Calla just left a message that Douglas showed up at school and now I can't find them or Tasha."

I looked at the others worriedly. Could Douglas have kidnapped them? I followed my siblings as they walked up to Mr. Davenport.

"Oh, I'm sure we'll find them if you keep us locked down here in the basement." Bree smirked at him. Clearly, she didn't think that they were in that much trouble. Although, maybe they could be pulling a prank on Mr. Davenport. Yeah, that was it. And they got Jaden to help them by prank calling me. Yeah, of course. They were probably fine, just sitting around laughing their heads off. I was proven wrong a second later.

The monitor behind Mr. Davenport turned on, revealing a large room. In the center of it were Calla, Leo and Tasha, all tied together.

"Help us!" "Can anybody hear us!" "Kidnapped by a psychopath here!" They were shouting. To my utter relief, none of them looked hurt. Just scared and, in Calla's case, vaguely annoyed.

"I knew it." Mr. Davenport growled. "Douglas has them."

But it wasn't Douglas that stepped into view a second later. It was Krane.

"Guess again." He said. We all exchanged worried looks. While I was sure that Douglas wouldn't actually kill or injure Calla or the others, I wasn't so sure about Krane. I had the feeling that he wouldn't so much as hesitate if they annoyed him too much.

"Guys, don't worry." I told them as I pushed past Adam and Bree. "We'll get you out of there."

"Chase, don't make promises you can't keep!" Adam hissed at me. I turned to look at them.

"I'm not going to break that promise." I growled back. I wasn't going to let Krane hurt them.

"So you're Victor Krane?" Mr. Davenport assumed. Krane didn't answer. "I love the face. Do you get all the premium channels on that thing?" Mr. Davenport asked, referring to Krane's messed up face.

"Enough." Krane growled. "Hand over the bionic kids."

"Not going to happen." Mr. Davenport replied quickly.

"This isn't a game." Krane snapped. "I've sent you my coordinates. They have ten minutes to get here, or else."

Krane started to walk away from the screen, but Tasha managed to call out for Mr. Davenport first.

I ran over to the super computer and grabbed Mr. Davenport's tablet. Sure enough, the coordinates were there. "I got them. He's at the corner of Prescott and Maple." I informed everyone.

"Ooh, nice neighbour hood." Adam grinned. "Crime does pay."

Bree rolled her eyes. "Let's go!" She exclaimed. We all started towards our capsules, ready to change into our mission suits and take on Krane.

"No!" Mr. Davenport snapped. We all stopped, out of surprise rather than obedience. "There's too many unknowns with this Krane guy. This one I do alone."

We all stared at him. He couldn't be serious, could he? "You?" I demanded.

"Yes, me!" Mr. Davenport looked offended, but I didn't really care. We were bionic. We had the best chance or rescuing them. He had no chance. If he went alone, Krane would kill them. Didn't he care?

"Aww, it's so cute when he gets all macho." Adam teased. Mr. Davenport didn't look amused.

"Okay, no offense, but if this guy's too dangerous for us, then how are you going to beat him?" I desperately needed to know that he had a plan, and that he wasn't going in there blind.

"With this." Mr. Davenport raised his arm. He was wearing what looked like a large, grey bracelet. The top part of raised, revealing the two lasers. "My thermal blaster," he stated, pointing his arm forward and away from us "Trust me you do not want to be on the wrong end of this baby…"

He quickly turned the laser around so that it was no longer pointing towards him. "This is the most powerful weapon I've ever created. It's like carrying around a lightning bolt. It will fry Krane's circuits for good."

"Or you could wear you motorcycle outfit and he'll die of laughter." Adam suggested, grinning. I looked at Mr. Davenport, still worried.

"Look Mr. Davenport, you can't go alone." I told him. "Krane is a powerhouse. He's the toughest enemy we've ever faced."

"And without my speed, you'll never make it." Bree added.

"My Davencycle will get me there in plenty of time. I'll have Calla, Leo and Tasha back by dinner." He promised us.

"Okay, but if you're not back by six-thirty, we're eating without you." Adam informed him. Mr. Davenport ignored him and ran off.

I wanted to trust that he would keep it, but the thought of Calla being hurt somehow wouldn't leave my mind. I had to be the one to save her. I knew it was silly, but I needed to be able to be one hundred percent sure she was safe, and the only way to do that was to save her myself. And Tasha and Leo of course.

** Leo's POV **

Krane forcibly dragged us over to this large, grey box. My mom was complaining the entire time.

"You know, I am a fairly well known TV personality and this could bring a lot of heat your way." She threatened him.

"I've seen your reporting. I'm doing the world a favour." He snapped, pushing her into the box. He pushed Calla and I towards it, but we both stopped.

"Hey, if you hurt my family, I'm going to hunt you down, so you'd better take me out too." I told him. Calla nodded.

"Agreed. If you want to hurt any of them, you're going to have to go through me."

"Alright." He stepped forward and cracked his knuckles menacingly.

"Box it is." "That box sounds fun." Calla and I both stepped into the box quickly.

"You two really need to stop talking." My mom murmured to us. We both nodded our agreement just as Krane slammed the door in our faces. Calla immediately reached the door handle and tried to open it.

"Damn it, it's locked." She muttered. My mom glared at Krane.

"Adam, Bree, and Chase are going to be here any minute and they're going to take you down!" She shouted angrily.

"No, they won't." Krane replied. "Your ego-centric husband will try and be a hero and play right into my hands."

Suddenly, the door swung open behind him, revealing Big D. He managed to laugh once before it swung right back in his face.

"I work for an idiot, don't I?" Calla asked to no one in particular.

Big D pushed the door open again. "Sorry I'm late." He said. Krane almost smirked.

"No, you're right on time." He chuckled. Big D pointed a weapon on his arm at Krane and fired a laser at him. Krane bent over in pain and raised his hand as if to block the laser. Big D grinned at us and I couldn't help but grin back.

But slowly, Krane rose. His hand was still up, getting hit by the laser. He started chuckling and Big D had a worried look on his face.

"What's happening?" I questioned.

"I don't know how he's doing it, but he's draining all the power from my blaster!" He replied. Krane was still doing that laugh-like-a-crazy-evil-person routine and suddenly, the laser disappeared altogether. Big D fell to his knees, stunned.

He got to his feet, tapping the weapon. Clearly, it was out of energy. "Okay, well that was the main thrust to my plan. I guess it's going to be hand to hand combat."

"And we're doomed." I declared. No one disagreed with me.

Krane walked up to Big D calmly. Big D threw a punch his way, but Krane stopped it telekinetically. He pushed Big D to the ground using his telekinesis. "You stopped me from getting into the lab with your little security fix. Turn it off." Krane growled.

"Never!" Big D objected. Krane glared at him and pushed him again in frustration.

"I figured you say that. So I'm going to give you a choice. Adam, Bree, and Chase," Krane looked at us "Or Calla, Leo and Tasha. It's up to you."

We all exchanged worried looks. "I'll never make that choice!" Big D objected. Krane raised an eyebrow.

"How about now?" He pressed a button on the remote in his hand. Suddenly, several red lights turned on inside the box. Steam started bursting out through tiny ventilation grates and the temperature seemed to go up by fifty degrees. And it kept getting hotter.

"What's going on?" Calla demanded.

"An exo-thermic energy field." Krane replied. "It's like a microwave. Good for chicken, bad for humans."

Big D slowly got to his feet as Krane continued. "They should be well done in about…six minutes."

We all stared at him, wide eyed. Calla and I started shoving at the door, trying to push it open with our weight. "Just let them go, take me instead!" Big D begged. Krane looked amused.

"Well, that wouldn't be as much fun." He replied with a chuckle. "But you can stop this. All you have to do is turn off the security perimeter." Big D didn't answer. "Tick-tock."

** Chase's POV **

I bit my lip in concentration, cutting another wire on Mr. Davenport's super computer's hard drive.

"Hurry up!" Bree urged. "We have to get out of here and help them!"

"I'm trying!" I snapped. "I hacked through the encryption but it won't let me go any further without a fingerprint."

"I have a fingerprint." Adam offered. I sighed.

"I meant Mr. Davenport's." I replied. He frowned.

"Why would I have Mr. Davenport's fingerprint?" He asked. "Think Chase, think."

It took all my will power not to call him a complete imbecile. I went back to my work, trying to find a way around the fingerprint barrier.

"Hey, isn't that his coffee mug?" Bree asked suddenly. I looked up and saw that his favourite coffee mug, the one with a picture of his face on it, was sitting on the main consol.

"Good one.' Adam grinned. I quickly got to my feet. "Let's have a cup a joe and talk about the good old days while Chase figures this out."

He reached for the cup, but I stopped him. "Bree's right. I can use my fingerprint recognition app to pull his thumb print from the cup. Then we can shut down the perimeter."

"Okay." Adam agreed. Then he raised his hands. "But if that doesn't work, I've got twelve of these bad boys and odds are one of them is bound to do something."

I didn't stop to inform him that he only had ten fingers, not twelve. I quickly scanned the cup for the fingerprint and got back to my work. We would be out of there soon enough.

Leo's POV

I knew that after this experience, I would never be able to eat another microwave burrito again.

It was boiling inside the box that we were trapped in. Seriously, it felt like I was inside a volcano. I wasn't the only one suffering though. Both my mom and Calla were just as hot as I was, the latter having abandoned her jacket.

"Donald…" My mom complained. "DO SOMETHING!"

Big D looked at us worriedly, then glared at Krane. "Stop! They have nothing to do with it!"

"And yet they seem to have everything to do with it." Krane replied quickly.

"Don't give in, Big D!" I called. "We can take it!"

Krane raised an eyebrow at us. "Really?" He asked. He twisted a knob on his remote and the temperature doubled.

"Okay! Okay, that burns!" I admitted, shrugging off my sweater.

"STOP TALKING TO HIM!" My mom snapped at me. Calla sighed.

"Don't do as he says, Mr. Davenport. He'll kill Adam, Bree, and Chase if you do!" She shouted. My mom looked at her as if she was crazy.

"And you don't think he'll kill us?" She demanded. Calla shook her head and crossed her arms.

"I know he will. But I'd rather die, knowing that my friends are safe, than live in a world without them." She replied seriously. I stared at her in amazement. It was one thing for us to die for them, seeing as we were their family. But Calla, she wasn't. She wasn't their family. She didn't need to sacrifice herself for them. So why was she?

"You really do love him." I realized, remembering what she said to Chase when he was under the Triton app's control. Calla smiled softly.

"Wasn't it obvious?" She replied.

"How touching." Krane sneered. He looked at Big D. "You're running out of time, Davenport."

Big D reached for the remote, only to be pushed away telekinetically. "I thought you were smarter than this."

"He really isn't." Calla told him. He ignored her.

"You'll never beat me." Krane growled. "Give me Adam, Bree and Chase or I will kill you."

"Don't do it!" I shouted. Suddenly, Big D's watch beeped. He got to his feet, staring at it.

"What's that?" Krane questioned. Big D faked a smile.

"Nothing. My fantasy football team is winning." He lied. He started tapping on the watch.

"Lab security perimeter disengaged." It said loudly. I looked at Big D, horrified.

"Why'd you turn it off?" I demanded.

"I didn't!" He exclaimed, desperately trying to turn it off. Krane started laughing. "It's okay. I can rearm it from here." Big D assured us.

"Too late." Krane turned away and then suddenly, he was gone. We stared at the spot he'd been, shocked.

"HE CAN GEOLEAP?!" Big D exclaimed. "I haven't even cracked that yet!"

"You know what? I'd love to help you with that if my brain cells weren't boiling!"

"Right. On it!" Big D started looking for a way to get us out of that box. I couldn't help but think of my siblings. Krane was coming for them, and it wasn't going to be pretty.

Big D started going through all of Krane and Douglas' inventions, looking for a way to get us out. But it was taking too long us. Krane said six minutes. I was pretty sure at least four, if not five, had gone by.

"Get us out of here!" Calla pleaded. 'use your blaster-thingy!"

"I can't use my thermal blaster because Krane drained all the power out of it!" He reminded her. He slammed his hands down on the table. "What kind of super villain's lair doesn't have a large device for cutting metal?"

"Just do something! I can't take much more!" My mom sobbed. Big D looked at her, then ran over to the other side of the lab to check for more inventions. Suddenly, an idea came to me.

"Wait!" I shouted, making him stop. "This lab must be tied to a huge power source. Can't you patch that into the thermal-blaster?"

Big D looked around. He grinned and pointed at something that I couldn't see. "Yes!" He exclaimed. "And if I reverse the polarity, it'll pull the heat from the cube and burn a hole in the door."

"Is that safe?" My mom asked.

"I don't know. Maybe we should consult the manual before we rush into anything." He replied sarcastically.

"JUST DO IT!" I practically screamed. I heard some sparks, so I assumed that he was doing it.

"Okay, here goes." He warned us. We all ducked to avoid being killed in case this went horribly wrong. There was a loud sound, sort of like a suction tube, and suddenly, the door caught fire. The fire burned away quickly, leaving a whole. We stood there for a minute, both stunned and enjoying the nice, cold air that was washing over us.

We all quickly piled out of the box, into the cooler air. Big D pulled me and my mom into a big only to push us away a second later. "Hot, hot, hot. You're burning me. You're burning me."

We all stood there for a few moments, cooling down. "Come on." Big D gestured at the

** Chase's POV **

Adam, Bree, and I emerged from our capsules, dressed in our mission uniforms. "Come on. Let's get out of here." Bree said as we raced for the door. Suddenly, a dark shape randomly appeared in front of us. We stumbled back in surprise as the shape changed to become Victor Krane.

"Not so fast." He was smiling cruelly. We stared at him, still a little surprised that he just appeared like that.

"Quick! Turn the fence back on!" Adam hissed at me. Unfortunately, it was a little late for that.

We started circling Krane, watching his every move. He looked at us, amused. "So, how would you like your lives to end?"

"Living on Mars." Adam replied. "Accidently take off my helmet."

Krane stared at him, but Adam didn't give him the chance to question his statement. "Get him!" he shouted, sending his heat vision at Krane. He held us his hands and the fire seemed to stop and hover between them. Then, as soon as Adam stopped shooting at him, he sent the fireball flying at us. We all ducked and it flew over our heads.

Bree sped over to the consol and sped back, Mr. Davenport tablet in her hands. "Later, freak." She said, hitting a button. The floor beneath Krane dropped and he was sent tumbling down into the hole. However, he jumped out with ease, chuckling.

He waved his hands and a pinkish wave hit Bree. "Bree!" Adam cried. She flew backwards, into the wall and crumpled to the ground.

We both glared at Krane furiously. No one hurts our sister. Adam ran forward and tackled Krane, both of them ending up in the hole. Meanwhile, I went to make sure Bree was alright.

"You okay?" I asked, helping her up. She nodded and glanced at the hole. Several grunts and bangs were coming from it.

Finally, they stopped. Adam leapt out of the hole. "Got him!" He announced. I quickly picked up the IPad and closed the compartment. I high-fived Adam.

Suddenly, Krane appeared next to us. "Nevermind! Get him!" Adam exclaimed. We all started towards him, but were held back by some invisible force. Krane telekinetically lifted us into the air. Krane smirked, and with a sudden force, threw us at the ground. We landed with three really loud and painful thuds.

"Well, this has been fun." He said as we lay on the ground, still stunned. "But all good things must come to an end."

Fire flew from both his hands. This was it. Krane was going to kill us. My life flashed before my eyes. It had a lot of Calla it.

Suddenly, a fireball hit Krane and knocked him back several feet. We all sat up, shocked and relived as Douglas walked in. He was carrying a massive laser in his hands, a grin on his face.

"Hi kids. Good to you." He greeted calmly before pointing the laser back at Krane. We quickly climbed to our feet and ran out of the way.

"I though I finished you." Krane growled.

"Yeah, that's what I wanted you to think." Douglas replied. He glanced at us. "I'm getting pretty good at faking my own death."

We stayed silent, still surprised that he had saved us. "Good luck faking your way out of this!" Krane shouted while Douglas was distracted. He sent an electric blast at Douglas, who fell back with a cry of pain.

He rolled over onto his side, holding his smoking shoulder. "Kids, you might want to leave for this next part!" He warned us, covering his face. A fireball spread between Krane's fingers as he prepared to blast him.

I didn't even have time to think. Before I knew it, I was running to Douglas' side. I fell to my knees, sliding in front of him. I barely had time to spin around and create my force field when Krane shot his fireball. It bounced off my force field and hit back several feet.

"Dude!" Adam and Bree were grinning. My brother patted me on the back. "You finally did something!"

Douglas was already on his feet. He picked up the laser and pointed at Krane. "I should have done this a long time ago."

"GUYS!" We turned to see Mr. Davenport run through the hall. I let out a sigh of relief when I saw that Calla, Leo, and Tasha were right behind him. Even Douglas turned to look. While he was distracted, Krane disappeared.

"NO!" Douglas screamed. "You let him get away!"

"Get out of my house!" Mr. Davenport snarled furiously, threatening Douglas with the thermal-blaster. Douglas dropped the laser and raised his hands.

"No, Mr. Davenport. It's okay." I told him, stepping forward. "Douglas saved us from Krane."

"Saved you?" Mr. Davenport repeated. "He's the reason we're having to fight Krane in the first place!"

"Don, I can explain. I-" Douglas started but Mr. Davenport wasn't in a listening mood.

"You're lucky I'm letting you go! Now get out of here before I change my mind!" Mr. Davenport shouted. Douglas looked at him, and Mr. Davenport glared back. After a moment of silence, Adam stepped over to Mr. Davenport.

"If you're going to shoot him, can you get it over with? Because this is getting really uncomfortable." He whispered. Douglas sighed.

"Don-"

"NOW." Mr. Davenport growled. Douglas nodded and slowly walked out of the lab. As soon as he was gone, Mr. Davenport put down his weapon. He turned to us.

"Are you three alright? Douglas and Krane didn't hurt you?" He asked worriedly. We all nodded, not speaking. "Good."

"Why did you do that?" I finally asked. Mr. Davenport frowned.

"Chase, it's Douglas' fault that Krane's so powerful. If it wasn't for him, Krane probably wouldn't even know you guys exist, let alone want to kill you." He objected.

"You could have at least heard him out!" I exclaimed, angry. I knew that Douglas did terrible things in the past. And I knew that he wasn't entirely a good person. But he saved our lives, even put his on the line. Shouldn't that count for something?

"He didn't deserve to be heard out." Mr. Davenport snapped. I opened my mouth to argue, but he silenced me with a furious glare. "I'm not having this discussion with you, Chase."

He walked upstairs without another word. Tasha sighed. "He's just stressed out." She told us. "I'm sure he'll be in a better mood in the morning."

"Right." I agreed. He still wouldn't listen then, though. Even Adam could figure that one out.

"We're glad you're okay." Bree smiled at her, then at Calla and Leo. "You guys too."

Leo smirked. "Well, what would you have done without us?" He asked.

I smiled and pulled Calla into my arms. "I have no idea." I murmured. I frowned and turned her around. "So, why are you so hot? And I didn't mean that just as a compliment."

Calla laughed. "Giant microwave." She replied. She noticed my confused expression. "It's a long story."

"I'll let you two explain." Tasha told them before heading upstairs. Calla sighed.

"Actually, Leo should do that. My parents must be freaking out. I was supposed to home…" she checked the time on her computer. "Three hours ago. They're so going to kill me."

"I texted Jaden and told him to cover for you. He found your stuff at the school." Bree informed her. Calla grinned.

"Thanks Bree." She smiled. "But I should still get going."

"I'll walk you home." I offered. She nodded and waited for me to change out of my mission uniform.

"So, what's this about a giant microwave?" I asked curiously as we walked out my front door. She quickly explained what happened back at Krane's hideout and then I explained what happened back at the lab.

"So…do you really think Douglas is trustable?" She asked after a moment. I thought about it for a minute.

Reasons not to trust him: He kidnapped each and every one of us at one point or another, tried to turn me against my siblings, and blew up the lab. Reasons to trust him: He never actually hurt any of us, he saved me from that avalanche, and he saved our lives from Krane tonight.

"I…I think so." I admitted after a minute. "Sure, he's done some bad things, but every one deserves a second chance, right?"

Calla was silent for a moment. "I guess you're right." She agreed after a minute.

"You don't trust him." I guessed. She sighed.

"Not really. But if you're willing to give him a second chance, so am I." She smiled at me and I smiled back. "The question is, how are we going to convince Mr. Davenport?"

I sighed. "I don't know." I admitted. "I don't know."

** Xxx **

"Do you think he's going to fall for it?" Bree whispered to me. I shrugged, watching as Mr. Davenport walked out of the lab's storage room. He'd been in there an hour, doing inventory in an attempt to calm down. While he was doing that, we had an idea.

"Hey, what are you guys doing?" He asked, wondering why we were all just standing in the hallway.

"Safely watching you from outside the cyber perimeter we turned on." Bree replied. He nodded, an amused smirk on his face.

"I see. This is revenge for me trapping you in the lab." He realized. I looked at my watch, double-checking the voltage.

"No, the real revenge will happen when you touch the fence. We upped the voltage. I should know. I touched it three times." Adam replied. Mr. Davenport frowned.

"Yep, and then we upped it again." I informed him. "The slightest contact will short-circuit the entire house. And leave you hairless. Enjoy." I walked just out of his view, listening to him and my siblings.

"I get it. You guys want me to think it's on, but it's not really on." Mr. Davenport assumed.

"Whatever you need to tell yourself." Adam replied before joining me.

"Of course you would expect me to think it's not on, so therefore it…may actually be on."

"It's a real possibility isn't it?" Bree mused. "Bye-Bye."

Bree skipped towards us as he called out "But only a fool would think it's on and I'm no fool. I'm a genius. So there is absolutely no way that this thing is on."

I handed Adam and Bree each a flashlight. There was a loud  _zap_ , a scream, and the lights went out. We turned on the flashlights.

"I told you he would fall for it."


	9. The Rats Strike Back

** Calla's POV **

"Okay, I'm finally done." I sighed, placing the last of the forms on top of my pile of completed forms. Mr. Davenport had given me a serious work load today because his last six inventions sold without a hitch. As good as that was for business, it also meant six hundred order forms for me to fill out. And of course, Leo hadn't been much help. He just sat next to me, playing Pokémon on his 3DS.

Suddenly, the lab doors opened. Adam, Bree, and Chase staggered in wearing their mission suits, their shoulders slumped with exhaustion.

"Hey guys." I greeted. They hardly acknowledged me, Chase barely giving me a tired smile. They all looked dead on their feet, and I didn't blame them. There'd been a terrorist attack downtown and although they had managed to stop them before anyone was killed, they'd been running around the city for almost eight hours straight trying to stop the guys.

"That was a successful mission!" Mr. Davenport grinned, not noticing their exhaustion. "Sure you blew a lot of stuff up, but hey. That's the city's problem now."

They all ignored him, slumping down into chairs or, in Adam's case, lying down on one of the counters.

"I am so exhausted." Bree complained. "I can't wait to just stand up and go to sleep."

Mr. Davenport nodded. "Well you guys get your rest. My big NASA presentation is this week and we still have to complete training on my gravity propulsion belt."

Leo grinned, getting out of the seat next to me. "I don't know what that is, but it sounds like it does a lot more than hold up my pants."

Mr. Davenport smirked at him then walked over to Adam, Bree and Chase. "This is a huge contract. If NASA buys this, astronauts will be able to space walk anywhere in the galaxy. They might even name a moon after me. Or a planet." We all shuddered at the thought of Davenearth. "Things are going to land on me!"

We all chuckled in amusement. He started to walk out. "I'll see you guys bright and early in the morning. Calla, I want you here by seven."

We all stared at him, upset. "Tomorrow?" Leo repeated. "No, no. That's not going to work. I planned an awesome cyber pong tournament. I made nicknames and everything. I'm King Pong."

"And tomorrow's the Teen Fiancé marathon on TV." Bree objected. "I didn't think it was possible, but I actually found a group of people whose lives are more pathetic than mine."

"Yeah, I was going to have a spa day!" Adam argued. "According to Bree's girly magazines…I have cankles."

"And I was going to get a head start on my homework!" Chase exclaimed. Everyone, even I, looked at him. "I mean play sports and go to the movies with Calla."

"Am I at least getting paid for overtime?" I demanded, upset. My weekend hours didn't start until nine and I wasn't too eager to show up two hours early.

"Nope." Mr. Davenport replied, much to my annoyance.

"But that's not fair! I was going to sleep in!" I complained.

"Look, unlike your stuff, my stuff is important." We all looked at Mr. Davenport, offended.

"What makes your stuff more important than ours?" Bree questioned.

"Uh, because my stuff can make a billion dollars." He pointed out. Darn. He had us there. "So, when you guys are the boss, you can make the rules, but until then, I AM THE KING OF DAVENPORTIA AND YOU WILL ALL DO MY BIDDING! HAHAHAHA!" The lab doors took that moment to shut on him. He backed out of them after being hit a couple of times and they shut in front of him.

"Man this stinks." Leo muttered. I looked at him.

"Why are you complaining? You don't have to do anything." I reminded him.

"Why do we always have to do what he wants us to do?" Bree complained.

Adam stared at her. "Weren't you listening? The man in king!"

Leo's face lit up. "Hey, maybe you guys should do what those hotel workers downtown did. You know, strike."

Adam punched Chase in the arm. "Ow!" My boyfriend complained. "What was that for?"

"Leo said strike." He replied. I rolled my eyes and turned to Leo.

"That's not a bad idea." I told him, thinking about it. I could get a pay raise, I wouldn't have to be at work at six am, and maybe it would bring his ego down a little.

"Strike?" Bree repeated, confused. Adam hit Chase again.

"OW!" He shouted.

"What's a strike?" Bree asked Leo. Adam went to punch Chase again, but the shorter boy caught him hand when he went to swing.

"Stop it!" He hissed. Adam pulled his hand back, looking vaguely annoyed that Chase stopped him.

"A strike is when employees refuse to work until they get better working conditions. Like a pay raise, or more days off…or in your case, a day off."

Everyone started nodding, liking the idea. "Hey, that's a great idea." Chase grinned. "I say we all strike."

None of us could help it. Really, we couldn't. When he said those words, we all smacked him in the arms. "Oh come on!"

"Sorry babe. You set yourself up for that one." I told him, grabbing his hand. "So, what's this about taking me to the movies?"

** Leo's POV **

"That's a nice sign Adam." Calla told the boy as he handed out his handmade strike signs. I had to stop myself from laughing; only Adam could get that much marker on him in a span of three minutes.

Anyway, we each had our signs ready just as Big D skipped into the lab.

"Greetings people of Davenportia. It is I, King Donald, here to train thee." He did a little bow, not noticing our angry expressions.

"Unfair! On strike!" We chanted, walking around in a circle. "Unfair! On strike!"

"What's all this?" Big D questioned.

"We are on strike." Chase informed him, holding up his sign that read: On Strike.

"Why would you guys strike?" Big D questioned. "You have the most awesome lives ever. Except maybe for mine."

"Ha-ha-ha." Bree fake laughed. "We're serious. Adam even made us signs."

Adam stood up then, revealing all the marker stains on his face. "Probably should have used a pencil." He admitted.

Big D nodded. "Okay guys, quit being ridiculous."

"There's nothing ridiculous about it." I told him. I looked at Adam, Bree, Chase, and Calla. "They're on strike and I'm their captain. We're sticking it to the man!"

"Yeah!" Adam agreed. "I don't know exactly what it is, but we're sticking it to you…And it's going to be really hard to get off."

Everyone else walked over to us, nodding in agreement. Big D looked at me. "Calla, why are you striking? You just have to show up and fill out forms."

"You told me to be here at seven! There's no way I was going to get up that early without being paid for my work!" She snapped.

Big D checked his watch. "It is seven. And I'm not paying you to strike." He informed her.

"Yes, but this is way more fun that filling out forms, and since I'm not getting paid, I might as well do something that amused me.." She shrugged.

"Leo, why are you striking? You don't even have to train."

"This isn't about training. It's about unity, and equality and getting what we want-ity." Yeah, sure. Want-ity was definitely a word. Big D still looked confused.

"We're striking because we want a day off. We need down time just to have fun." Chase told him. "As long as it doesn't affect our school work."

Everyone glared at him. "That's right." I said, turning back to Big D. "We are united in this cause. We will get what we want because super humans are humans too!"

We started chanting and pushing him out of the lab. "SUPER HUMANS ARE HUMANS TOO! SUPER HUMANS ARE HUMANS TOO!" She cried. "SUPER HUMANS ARE HUMANS TOO!"

We pushed him right into the elevator. "I see. You guys want to play hardball." Big D said.

"Yes we do." Adam agreed. "And after that we're going to go right back to striking."

"Bye-bye!" Calla waved and hit the elevator button. The doors shut and we listened as the elevator flew up to the main floor.

"Now what?" Bree asked. Calla's pulled out her phone.

"Now I text Jay and we can have that ping pong tournament." Calla replied, sending her brother a quick message.

"I'm watching the Teen Fiancé marathon on the IPad!" Bree called, grabbing the device and plunking down in one of the chairs. Calla and Chase were started setting up the virtual ping pong table and Adam went off to find some of Bree's spa stuff.

** Calla's POV **

"Sorry Chase, but there's no way you're going to beat me." I smirked at my boyfriend as he held up the virtual ping pong ball. He rolled his eyes at served the ball. I smacked it hard, back towards him. "BAM!"

"POW!" He exclaimed, returning it.

"Take that!" I shouted, hitting the ball back.

"Never!" He replied, sending it my way.

"Eat it!" I demanded and hit the ball, getting a little annoyed.

"Not going to hit me!" He retorted. Jaden and Leo, who were watching, chuckled at our little exchange.

"Think fast!" I hit the ball as hard as I possibly could.

"Think faster!" He replied, hitting the ball back even harder. It flew right past my head. The holoscreen flew up from the virtual ping pong table, announcing that Chase was the winner. "Boom!" He grinned, doing that weird gun thing that Mr. Davenport always did.

I sighed and switched spots with Leo so he could play. "Could you guys keep it down? I'm watching Teen Fiancé!" Bree exclaimed in annoyance. Jaden looked at her.

"Oh, I haven't seen this week's episode. What's happening?" He asked, sliding his chair over to her. We all stared at him. "It's a good show!" He defended himself.

"Jimmy is about to pop the question at the Taco Shack!" Bree told my brother. "He hid her ring in a churro!"

"Let me see!" Jaden looked at the screen over her shoulder, his hand reaching into her bowl of popcorn.

"My brother is WAY too in touch with his feminine side." I muttered. Chase heard me and laughed just as Adam walked in.

"Who wants burritos?" He called as he entered the lab. He was wearing a blue bathrobe and his face was covered in a white, creamy substance that I assumed was facial cream. He was carrying a burrito on a plate in his left hand. He looked down at it and used his heat vision to melt the cheese on top of it. He grinned. "Fresh out of the eyeball."

We all rolled his eyes at his joke as he sat down in one of the chairs. Bree's foot massager was at the bottom of the chair and he put his feet in with a sigh of relief. "Ah, that's the stuff."

And then suddenly, everything stopped. The lights shut off, the ping pong table disappeared, and the IPad's screen went black. Everything just shut down, as if someone had pulled the plug. "Hey!" We all called in surprise.

"What gives?" Chase demanded.

"My cankles!" Adam cried. Mr. Davenport chose that moment to walk in. He was greeted by six very annoyed faces. He didn't seem to notice, however.

"And darkness falls across the land of Davenportia! Ha hahaha ha!"

"Turn our stuff back on!" Bree demanded. Mr. Davenport crossed his arms.

"I think you mean turn  _my_  stuff back on because you can't strike against me without striking against Davenport Industries and that means you can't use Davenport Industries equipment! HA! Boom!" He did that gun thing, smirking at us arrogantly. Unfortunately for us though, he was right.

"So, I'll take that, and that, and this," he started taking things out of our hands, including the ping pong ball paddles, the IPad, and the popcorn bowl "and this and that." He grabbed the last object on his list, which was a small container of cream sitting next to Adam.

"Hey! That's my face cream!" Adam objected. Mr. Davenport looked at him.

"Adam, this is sour cream." He informed him. Adam nodded.

"Yeah, and when it's done on my face, I'm going to use it on my burrito." He replied, wiping some of the cream off his face with the snack. He went to take a bite of it, but Mr. Davenport pulled it out of his hands.

"And that is also mine." He declared, starting to walk away.

"Hey!" Adam exclaimed, getting to his feet.

"All you guys have to do is end the strike and you can have the stuff back." Mr. Davenport informed us. Adam looked back at us, his eyes pleading.

"That sounds like a win-win. We should go for it!" He begged. Leo stepped in before Adam could make the decision for the group.

"No!" He exclaimed, he looked at us. "What about your day off? What about your overtime pay? Come on! Stay defiant! Stand up to the man!"

Adam looked at the younger boy, horrified. "But that man has my burrito!" He cried. Mr. Davenport grinned.

"And the man is having it for lunch." He replied, taking a large bite out of it. We all looked at him, disgusted. That thing had been wiped across Adam's face! "Now if you don't mind, I'll be up in my well-lit mansion, playing with all my toys that still work."

He laughed and headed to the elevator. I looked at the other's annoyed faces and came up with a plan. I turned to my big brother.

"Jaden, go home and get us something to do. My laptop, a pack of cards, board games. Everything we have in case of a power outage. And tell Mom we're spending the night." I ordered. If he was seriously going to take away their electricity, there was no way I was going to abandon them.

** Leo's POV **

"I'm cold." I complained for what must have been the seventeenth time. The temperature in the lab had gone below zero last night, leaving all of us freezing. In an effort to conserve heat, we had all climbed into the capsules together. Adam, Chase and I were in one, while Calla, Bree and Jaden were in the other. There was hardly any room to move.

"It's freezing down here." Bree agreed. I glared at her. Why was she complaining? She was the only one down here wearing a sweater! Although judging by how cold Jaden looked, I think that the football player was starting to regret giving it to her.

"I can't feel my toes." Adam said, teeth chattering. Chase glared at him.

"Because those are mine, weirdo!" He snapped. Apparently I wasn't the only one who got really irritable when I was cold. Then, Big D ran in wearing a big winter jacket. I briefly wondered why he owned one; we lived in California for heaven's sake!

Big D hit a button on the main consol and the lights flickered on. Immediately, I felt the temperature begin to rise. "Guys!" Big D cried, throwing off his hood. "NASA called!"

"They want their nerd back?" Bree asked, causing us all to laugh. Big D ignored her.

"Look, they moved the gravity belt presentation up to tomorrow, so we have to put all this ridiculousness behind us and get back to work! Strike's over!" He shouted. We exchanged looks at stepped out of the capsules.

"Au contraire, Big D. You obviously don't know how a strike works." I grinned. "It's not over because you say it's over."

Big D rolled his eyes. "Guys, the biggest contract of my life is on the line here."

"Oh, we'd love to help you, Mr. Davenport." Chase told him, grinning. "But since you didn't care about our needs, why should we care about yours?"

"Because I, and listen closely now," he drew us all close "SAID SO!"

We all jumped back, a little startled. "I'm going to go get the gravity belt." Big D told us. "And when I come back, the strike's over."

He walked out with his head held high. Adam looked at us, grinning. "Did we win?" He asked excitedly. Bree ignored him and glared at me.

"Great plan Leo! We lost!" She exclaimed. Calla shook my head.

"That's just what he wants you to think." She told her. "We've got all the leverage."

"Calla's right." Chase agreed. "He can't do the presentation without us."

"Exactly." I smiled. "We can use that to get what you guys want and more! Trust me guys; I smell a victory."

Adam shook his head. "No, those are my feet." He replied. "I used rose petals in my cackle bath."

We all looked at him. "So, what should we put on our demand list?" Calla asked. We started going through a list of things we wanted. Adam, Bree, Chase and Calla had wanted boring things like more time off, overtime pay, and a fifteen percent discount at Davenport Industries, so I added some more entertaining things.

"Are you sure about those?" Calla asked, eyeing my list. I nodded.

"Oh yeah. Totally." I replied. "I'm going to go get us our victory."

"I'll help." Jaden offered, following me as I walked towards the elevator. We headed upstairs and walked onto the main floor. We found Big D holding his gravity belt and talking to it. "You're a pretty belt. How I love you." He was saying. Jaden and I both stood there, watching, for several moments before he noticed us.

"Do you need a minute?" I asked, trying to hide my smirk.

"I wasn't talking to it." He lied. Jaden rolled his eyes.

"Sure you weren't." He agreed before walking over to the desk. "We're here to negotiate."

"Guys, there is nothing to negotiate." He replied, setting the belt down. "The strike's over."

"Slow your roll, Big Money." I smiled. "You need them for your demonstration, so we have some new demands." I sat down in his chair and put my feet up on the table. He looked at me.

"Get up." He ordered.

"Right." I agreed, doing as I was told.

Jaden looked at my list. "First, we want better snacks. Seriously, how many people even buy Davenbars? Second, we want a 401k. We don't know what it is, but we know we want it."

Big D gave him a confused look. "Third, matching hats." I continued for him.

"Guys." He stopped me. "Those are some…interesting demands."

I grinned. "Well, I would be lying if I said I didn't have some input." I admitted.

"Most of them are his." Jaden added. "But the snack thing was my idea."

"But you two have been working so hard on what they want." Big D continued. "Why don't we talk about what you want?"

"Well, this isn't about what we want." I objected, but the curiosity was a little too much to bear. "But we're listening."

** Calla's POV **

"Okay, this is taking way too long." I said, pacing around the lab. Bree nodded from where she was sitting.

"Leo should have been back by now." She agreed. "His lungs are way too tiny to be talking this long."

"The negotiations must be gruelling." Chase decided. Adam sighed.

"I knew I shouldn't have demanded that bucket of sour cream!" He exclaimed.

"Yes Adam. I'm sure that's the sticky point." Chase agreed sarcastically.

He didn't need to though, because the lab doors opened at that point. Mr. Davenport walked through, holding the gravity belt.

"Finally." Bree smirked. "Is the man with the fancy belt ready to buckle?"

Mr. Davenport smiled, much to our surprise. "I'm ready to begin training for the presentation." He replied.

"You can't do that without one of us." Chase reminded him.

"Actually, I can." He grinned. "Because you have been replaced."

The lab doors opened again, revealing Jaden and Leo, the latter wearing a very interesting outfit. It was a skin tight, silver body suit with the Davenport Industries logo on the front. Thankfully, Jaden was still wearing his T-shirt and jeans.

"Boom." Leo grinned. Jaden smirked.

"Boom." He said.

"Boom." Mr. Davenport finished.

"Wait, you guys are replacing us?" Bree demanded, staring at the two boys. "You were supposed to negotiate for us!"

"To be fair, your demands were ridiculous." Leo replied, adjusting the sleeve of his suit.

"They were your demands!" Bree cried. "When did they become ridiculous?"

"When I got what I wanted. Boom!" Leo replied.

"So, Leo's testing it?" Chase asked. "What's Jaden doing?"

"He's going to be writing down the formulas, checking the numbers, filling out the order forms, ect." Mr. Davenport replied. I glared at my brother.

"That's my job! You stole my job!" I shouted. He just shrugged.

"Yeah…he offered me a twenty dollar bill and since I'm sorta broke, I took it." He ruffled my hair playfully. "If it makes you feel better, baby sis, I'll but you a milkshake from Dairy Queen."

"Give me back my job!" I would have lunged at Jaden and likely attempted murder if had Chase hadn't stopped me.

** Xxx **

"This is unbelievable! We had Mr. Davenport right where we wanted him and Leo just handed him all the power!" Bree muttered. We were in the living room, having been kicked out of the lab so that Mr. Davenport, Jaden and Leo could 'get to work'.

"I know!" Adam agreed. "Now we're never going to get matching hats!"

"When I get my hands on my brother…" I muttered under my breath. This was so stupid! Jaden may not be the dumbest person in the building, but he was terrible at science and math. And you needed to know physics and numbers to do the majority of my job.

"If Leo succeeds as a test pilot and Jaden does well as an assistant, Davenport gets what he wants and we lose." Bree continued. "I need my TV! I am a highly irrational teenage girl and it is the only thing keeping me from unleashing all of this," she started making weird arm gestures, "on you!"

"Guys, I think I've figured out Mr. Davenport's game." Chase had a smile on his face, so I figured that he had a plan. "He's not going to use Leo to present the gravity belt, nor is Jaden his new assistant. He's bluffing."

"You're right." Bree grinned. "Davenport needs us because we're trained, fit, and conditioned to wear it and Leo's…Leo."

"And there's no way he's done enough to have Jaden do math." I agreed.

"Mr. Davenport knew that Leo was our leader." Chase said. "He thought if he cut off the head of the beast, the beast would die."

"Wait, there's a beast and we're going to die?" Adam questioned. "I did not train for that."

"No one's going to die, Adam." I assured him. I looked at my boyfriend. "But what about Jaden? He came over to hang out, not to strike."

"I think that was just to annoy you." He replied. I crossed my arms.

"Well, it worked." I muttered.

"I say we call Mr. Davenport's bluff and at the same time, get revenge on Jaden and Leo." Chase suggested. "We can kill two birds with one stone!"

"Wait, are we killing birds or beasts?" Adam asked, frowning. "I am so confused."

** Leo's POV **

Big D was busy working on the gravity belt thing, and Jaden was going through Calla's computer for blackmail, so I picked up some of the weights from the weight rack and decided that I should work out before piloting the belt.

After a few minutes of attempting to lift the heavy weights, I looked at Big D. "Do you have anything lighter?" I asked. He looked at me in exasperation.

"Leo, those are one pound!" He told me. Just then, the lab doors opened and my mom walked in, carrying some folders.

"Hey guys…Leo! What are you doing with my weights?" she demanded. "You're going to throw your back out."

I grinned proudly at her. "Hey mom, check me out! I'm going to be Big D's test pilot for the NASA presentation."

She looked absolutely horrified and a lot less impressed than I thought she would. "What?"

"That's right." I grinned. "Little man, top gun!"

She glared at Big D. "Oh, no. He is not testing one of your half-baked disaster gadgets."

"Hey, my gadgets have a…reasonable safety record." Big D retorted. He drew my mom into the corner to talk while I continued to work with the weights. She walked out a minute later, a look of annoyance on her face.

He didn't seem to notice though. He walked over and pressed a button on the gravity belt. It rose into the air. "Presto!" He exclaimed. It was actually really impressive. Even Jaden turned away from Calla's computer to look at the device.

It was cool for exactly three seconds. Then Big D pulled it into his arms and started talking to it as if it was his  _precious_. Seriously, a mental image of Gollum from Lord of the Rings popped into my mind when I saw him holding it.

Big D then noticed me and Jaden staring. "Still not talking to it." He lied again. I continued to stare at him, while Jaden rolled his eyes and turned back to the computer.

The lab doors opened right then, and Adam, Bree, Chase and Calla all walked in. Big D smiled when he saw them. "Oh, hey guys." He greeted in a pleasant tone. "Have you come here to grovel? Proceed."

They all smirked in amusement. I frowned when I saw the looks on their faces. Was it just me, or did it seem like they all had some sort of devious plan? I shrugged it off; I was probably being paranoid because I knew they were annoyed with me for taking their jobs.

"Actually, we came to check on your new test pilot and assistant." Bree replied. "If you really want to replace us with them, we should really make sure they're up to it."

"Oh, they're up to it." Big D replied just as I dropped one of the weights. They all looked at me.

"Hand cramp." I told them, rubbing my hand. Suddenly, several loud beeps came from Calla's computer. She ran over.

"No! Cancel, cancel!" She cried, tapping desperately on the keys. She glared at her brother. "Why would you try to delete all the work I've done in the past six weeks?"

"I meant to click copy, not delete." He replied. She looked at him suspiciously.

"Were you going to hand in any of my inventions as a science project?" She questioned. He hesitated before answering.

"…no…" He mumbled.

"Hey Mr. Davenport?" Adam looked at Big D. "If you're replacing us with Leo, shouldn't he be doing the same training we did?" He asked.

"No, I don't think that's necessary." Big D replied. Chase smiled.

"Oh, but we do." He said. "I mean, unless you've really been bluffing this entire time and have no intention of using Leo as your test pilot?"

I looked at Big D, waiting for him to tell Chase how wrong he was. Of course he was going to use me in his presentation!

"Alright, fine." Big D agreed. "Why don't we start with some push ups?" He looked at me, then turned back to Chase. "Or a push up."

"No. Leo has to train exactly as we did." Chase said to him. "Throw him in the deep end."

I grinned. "Yeah Big D! Throw me in the deep end!" Then a thought occurred to me. "Just give me a second to get my floaties."

** Calla's POV **

"Oh Jaden!" I called, walking into the lab. My brother was watching the other's set up Leo's 'training'. He looked up and frowned at the large box I carried in my arms.

"Hey Cal, what's that?" He asked. I dumped the box onto his lap.

"Well, since your Mr. Davenport's new assistant, you should probably get to work. You're going to need to fill out all these forms tonight."

He opened the box and gaped at the stacks of paper. "There must be five hundred sheets in here!" He objected. I smiled sweetly at him.

"Six hundred actually." I replied. The sheets I gave him were copies of the ones I filled out earlier that day. That way, if he messed it all up, I wouldn't have to waste my time cleaning up his mess. "Have fun."

I skipped over to where Chase was sitting was sitting in Leo's desk chair. I sat down on his lap as Mr. Davenport walked in carrying a heavy medicine ball.

"I give Jay half an hour until he cracks and gives me my job back." I whispered to Chase. He smirked.

"You give him way too much credit. I give him fifteen minutes." He replied. I smirked.

"Loser buys dinner?" I suggested.

"You're on." Chase replied. We looked back at Leo's training. Mr. Davenport threw Leo the medicine ball and he caught with only a little difficulty. Mr. Davenport grinned.

"Good work. That was heavy." He clapped. Leo grinned. So did Adam.

"That's not heavy." The older boy corrected. He walked into the storage room and came back carrying a large container above his head. Leo dropped the medicine ball, staring at it.

Adam threw the container at Leo, who barely managed to catch it. Still, the weight of the container knocked him flat on his back. "That's heavy!" Adam laughed.

"I'm okay!" Leo assured us. We then moved onto stage two of Leo's training. All he had to do was stack several multicolour bricks on top of each other in a tower in under a minute.

"Okay Leo, ten more seconds." Mr. Davenport announced as Leo cautiously went to put the last two bricks on. "Way to focus under pressure."

Meanwhile, we had wheeled out the tennis ball shooter. "That is not pressure." Chase chuckled. Leo looked our way, eyes widening when he saw the machine. Chase got the honours of pressing the on button and yellow tennis balls started flying at Leo, pelting him, Mr. Davenport and the tower. The balls hit Leo in the head several times, causing him to duck behind the counter, and they managed to destroy the tower. "That's pressure."

"I'm okay!" Leo called from his spot behind the counter. Then it was time for the third challenge. Leo had these special, laser-resistant gauntlets on. A dartle laser sphere hovered above our heads, its targeting system focused on Leo.

It started shooting lasers at Leo, really, really slowly. He was able to deflect each one with ease. "This is awesome!" He exclaimed. Bree smirked.

"That's because it's in beginner mode." She told him. "Why don't you try out combat mode?"

Leo's smile fell from his face. The lasers started flying at him, ten times faster than before. Somehow, by some miracle, he managed to deflect them all. "Yes!" He grinned when the stopped. "Wasting my life playing video games finally payed off."

Then another laser shot out and hit him in the stomach. He fell onto his back. "I'm okay!" He called as we all grinned.

Suddenly, someone tapped on my shoulder. I looked up and grinned at Jaden. "You're done already?" I asked. He glared at me.

"Paperwork is God's way of punishing bad people." He muttered. I laughed.

"And why would you be punished?" I asked.

"I took your job. Sorry." He muttered. "You can have it back. I'm going home."

"Hey, hey!" I stopped him. I held out my hand. "I want the twenty bucks you sold us out for."

He sighed, shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled twenty dollar bill. "Bye guys!" He called over his shoulder as he left.

"Bye Jaden!" Bree called after him.

"Calla?" I looked down at Chase. He was smirking. He pointed at his watch. "He lasted seventeen minutes."

"A deal's a deal." I sighed. "So, are we going to the pizza palace or the that new sushi place?"

"I've always wanted to try sushi." Chase replied. "How about tomorrow night, after Mr. Davenport gives in and gives us the day off?"

"It's a date." I replied, kissing him lightly on the cheek.

** Leo's POV **

I followed Big D into the living room about ten minutes before the NASA representative was supposed to show up. Adam, Bree, Chase and Calla were waiting for us.

"Congratulations Leo, you have completed every training test necessary for the gravity belt presentation." Big D announced loudly. Everyone else looked at him.

"How many did he pass?" Chase asked.

"He completed them!" Big D snapped. They all stood up, frustration written all over their faces.

"Just give it up!" Bree exclaimed. "We all know you're not letting Leo go up in that thing."

By now, even I had figured out that the second one side gave in my test pilot days were over. But Big D was still trying to keep up the charade. "Oh, yes I will, missy."

He looked at the door. "The NASA rep will be here any second now and Leo is good to go." He looked at them pleadingly. "Unless you guys want to end this right now and help me with the presentation?"

"Not unless you're ready to give us more time off." Chase replied. "And overtime pay for Calla."

"Not a chance!" Big D argued. Chase looked seriously annoyed by this point.

"Fine! Then let's belt you up, Leo!" He exclaimed. I grinned, knowing that this would be the only chance I was ever going to get to wear the belt.

"Don't mind if I do!" I grinned as the guys helped me put on the gravity belt.

"That…that's fine. I am one hundred percent comfortable with this." Big D did not look at all comfortable with this. Then the doorbell rang and he completely panicked. "Ah! NASA's here! Okay, take it off, take it off, take it off!" He begged. "Help me with the presentation and I will give you anything you want!"

Adam wasted no time making demands. "I want a purple pony named Blue!" He exclaimed instantaneously. We all looked at him, questioning his sanity. "What? You said anything."

"We want you to be fair." Bree walked over to Big D, Chase and Calla following her. "We work hard and deserve time off. Just think about that next time before you automatically say no."

"Yeah. You need to know when to be our boss and when to be our dad." Chase told him. "And our dad would know when we need a day off."

Big D nodded. "The dad card, well played." Chase smirked.

"And I'm pretty sure it's illegal not to pay me for my work, even if it's overtime." Calla added. Big D rolled his eyes. The doorbell rang again.

"Come on guys, please!" He begged.

"Do we get a day of, every week, to do whatever we want?" "And my overtime pay?" Calla and Chase demanded at the same time. Adam put his hand on Big D's shoulder.

"I'll let you ride Blue." He offered. The others shrugged as if it was part of their bargain. The doorbell rang again. Wow, that NASA rep must be getting really impatient.

"Fine!" Big D agreed. "I hear you. More dad, less boss, listening, overtime, are we good?"

"Deal!" They all agreed.

"Yes." Adam grinned. "Wait, what just happened?"

Big D turned to me. "Leo, give the belt to Adam."

The doorbell rang again and my mom walked into the room. She gave us a look.

"Isn't anybody going to answer the door?" She questioned, reaching for the door handle.

"No!" Big D cried, but it was too late. She had opened the door. Big D quickly regained his composure as the NASA rep, an older and mostly bald man, walked in. We still hadn't managed to get the belt off. "Jerry, it's good to see you." Big D shook the man's hand.

He looked back at us. "Leo, give the belt to Adam!" Big D hissed. I tried to undo it, but the belt's buckle lit up bright red. That didn't seem good.

"What was that?" I asked. Adam grinned.

"The on switch." he replied.

"What?" Big D demanded, spinning around just in time to see me go airborne. I flew right up into the air, hovering near the kitchen lights.

"Leo, grab onto something!" Bree exclaimed. I started to descend, so I grabbed onto the nearest chair and held on for dear life. That didn't help however, because I flew back into the air a second later.

"Stop it!" I shouted at the belt, hoping that maybe it was voice controlled. Apparently, it wasn't. I bounced up and down the room several times before hovering over the kitchen table.

"No!" I cried, losing my grip on the chair that I had in my arms. It fell and crashed into the table, shattering it into a million tiny pieces. "Why do we keep getting glass dining tables?" I demanded.

Meanwhile, Big D was still trying to recover the presentation. I grabbed onto the nearest support beams as I flew by it, forcing my feet onto the ground. After a minute, I felt the gravity return.

"I'm good!" I assured the others, letting go. That was a big mistake, because then I started flying into everything. Walls, ceilings, I even broke one of the support beams when I hit it. I doubted that my mom would be too happy about that.

"It works a lot better on a normal sized person." Chase told the representative. Suddenly, the light on the belt grew even brighter and I knew that meant bad things.

I managed to get out a quick "uh-oh" before soaring through the ceiling. I only stopped hovering when I was about twenty feet above my house.

"Can you get my football while you're up there?" I heard Adam call before I fell quickly, stopping in mid air next to my porch.

"How did I get outside?" I demanded, flying past the window. I flew back into the air, luckily not as high. I started fumbling with the belt, trying to find the off switch. After a couple of tries, I found it.

"There's the off switch." I said, flipping the switch. I fell through the giant hole in my roof and landed in my living room. I pushed myself to my feet, grinning in relief because I was alive. "I'm okay!" I announced.

Everyone ran and hugged me. Adam grabbed my by my shoulders, looking at me. "Where's my football?" He demanded. I sighed.

"Still on the roof." I told him. He let go of me, a disappointed look on his face.

"And that concludes our presentation!" Big D announced, clearly trying to save this train wreck. Jerry patted his shoulder, then walked out. Big D ran after him. "Come on! Wouldn't you want to be able to do that on another planet? You guys buy all kinds of junk that don't work!"

He came back a minute later, disappointed. "Well, that was fun." Calla commented. She held up a camera. I hadn't noticed it before. "And I caught it all on camera. What should we name it when we post it on Youtube?"

** Calla's POV **

"I can't believe how many hits this is getting!" I laughed along with Adam, Bree, and Chase. We were all watching Leo's epic fail on the web. It had only been five hours, but it had already passed ten thousand views.

"Hey guys." A nervous voice got our attentions. I paused the video and we all turned to look at Leo. The smiles fell from our faces as we glared at the boy. He sighed. "Look, I'm really sorry. I wanted to be like you guys so much that I lost track of what's most important. Our friendship."

Bree smiled softly. "Aww. That's so sweet, it makes me want to–blahh!" She fake vomited. He looked at her, and after a moment she smirked. "Yeah, I guess we can forgive you."

The rest of us shrugged. "Yeah, me too." "It's all good." "We're cool."

We hugged him for a moment, then let go. Chase looked at Leo's uniform. "So, are you ever planning on taking that outfit off?" He asked.

"Well, no. It's the closest I'm ever going to get to a mission suit." Leo replied. I smirked at that, mission suit designs floating around my head. Chase smirked at Leo's comment as well, but for a different reason.

"You can't get it off, can you?" He guessed. Leo shook his head.

"It's adhered to me in a way I'm no longer comfortable with." The boy admitted.


	10. Dude, Where's My Lab?

** Calla's POV **

"Test number eighty-seven complete." I checked yet another thing off the list Mr. Davenport had been given. Honestly, we were all bored out of our minds. The tests were boring, to watch and to perform, and no one really wanted to be stuck inside. School had FINALLY let out for the summer, but Mr. Davenport just took this as an opportunity to do a lot of work.

"Okay guys," Said inventor continued, completely oblivious to our boredom. "Now we'll check your bionic reflexes. First, the left arm."

Everyone's left arms swung out. Both Adam, who was standing between his siblings, and Bree were smacked in the face.

"Now the right arm." Mr. Davenport told them. Their right arms swung out, hitting both Adam and Chase in the face.

"I hate this game!" Adam complained. I smirked.

"Adam, you can sit this one out." I told him, smirking at Mr. Davenport. He caught on immediately.

"Yeah, I'll just do Bree and Chase." He agreed. Adam smiled and Mr. Davenport pressed a button. Chase's left arm and Bree's right arm flew back, both of them hitting Adam's face. Adam groaned and rubbed his nose as his siblings laughed. Suddenly, my phone vibrated as I received a text message.

** From: Jaden **

** How's it going on your end? **

Oh, crap. I almost forgot about the plan. "Leo." I called softly. He looked at me and I smiled, motioning at Mr. Davenport with my eyes. He understood perfectly.

"Big D!" he complained. "It's summer vacation! Let's hit the beach!"

"Yeah!" I agreed. "Slap on some shorts and show off those pasty little walking sticks!"

Leo, Jaden, and I had been planning a trip to the beach for a while now. Jaden was at our house, trying to convince our mom to bring us, and I was supposed to help Leo convince Mr. Davenport.

"Not now guys." Mr. Davenport shot us down. "We're doing some routine bionic chip maintenance. Besides, this is fun, right guys?"

Judging by the looks on their faces, it was quite the opposite. "Good times." "A blast." The boys replied, sarcasm dripping from their tones. Bree didn't even bother with the sarcasm.

"Are we done here?" she questioned, pulling off the bionic neck brace. "I want to go be normal for a while!"

She tossed the neck brace at the computer, causing sparks to burst from it. Tasha, who had come down with a tray of snacks, dropped what she was holding. The bowls of food hit the ground with a clatter, their contents flying everywhere.

"Can't we go five minutes without something sparking, exploding, or oozing around here?" Tasha demanded. She looked at Mr. Davenport. "Ever since summer vacation started, it has been like one long science experiment."

"I'm sorry honey." Mr. Davenport was quick to calm her down. "You know…maybe Calla and Leo are right. Maybe we need to take a break and go to the beach."

"Yes!" "Sweet!" "Finally!" We cheered.

"We'll take a whole weekend as a normal family. No gadgets, no phones. We'll do it totally tech free." While he spoke, we started to clean up the mess.

"That is exactly what I need." Tasha agreed, smiling at her husband. "You would really do that for me?"

"Of course. You are way more important to me than…the amazing innovations born of my genius." He told her, smirking towards the end. She kissed him, then left to go upstairs.

I pulled out my phone and started texting my brother.

** To: Jaden **

** Mr. D said yes. What about Mom? **

His reply was fairly quick.

** From: Jaden **

** Catch a ride with them. We'll meet you at the beach in half an hour. **

"Is Jaden coming?" Bree asked, noticing that my phone was in my hands. I nodded.

"Yep. They're going to meet us there." I replied. Leo looked at Mr. Davenport.

"It's really nice of you to blow off work for my mom." He commented, picking up the tray from the ground and setting it on the table.

"Well Leo, now and then everybody needs a little peace and…" Just then, a massive alarm started to go off. "QUIET!"

I ran over to the computer, turning on the monitor. It didn't take us long to discover the problem.

"It's the early warning satellite system." Chase exclaimed. I tapped a couple of buttons, letting everyone see the warning on the monitor.

"It's detecting a massive solar flare." I announced. Mr. Davenport checked my computer.

"When that thing hits the atmosphere, it could cause massive power failures and a total black out of satellite communications." He realized.

"Okay, I'm going to go tell my mom we're not going to the beach then." Leo started to run upstairs, but Mr. Davenport stopped him.

"No, no, no, no. Don't tell your mom a thing about this." He instructed. Chase looked at him like he was crazy.

"Oh, right. Let's just ignore the biggest solar flare in history to keep the little lady happy." He said sarcastically.

"Don't worry about the solar flare. I'll handle it." Mr. Davenport assured all of us. "Just pack your stuff in the RV and get ready to get your beach on!"

We stopped and stared at him. "I know nobody says that. I know that." He defended himself.

Suddenly, Adam ran ahead of us and started passing out safety goggles. I took mine with an amused smile. It was sweet that he was trying to protect us from the solar flare, even if these wouldn't exactly work.

"Adam, safety goggles aren't going to protect our eyes from the solar flare." Chase, on the other hand, chose to shoot down his idea.

Adam wasn't bothered. "No, but it will protect us from the glare when pasty legs Davenport puts on his shorts."

We all chuckled, putting on the safety goggles and heading into the back room.

"Hey Calla, the pink one or the multicolour one?" Bree asked me, holding up two shirts. I pointed to the latter while the boys quickly packed their things.

"Hey, what about you?" Chase asked me. "You can't go to the beach in that."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "What? You don't like my outfit?" I asked, pretending to be hurt. This happened to be my favourite sweater.

"No, of course not. You look gorgeous in it." Chase assured me. I smirked. "But it's not exactly beach material."

"Jaden's brining my stuff." I replied, grabbing my phone. I quickly texted him, telling him to bring the outfit I wanted – my fave jean shorts and a red tang top – along with some sunscreen and sandals.

We headed outside, all chatting about something different. Bree was telling me about all the cute guys that she was hoping to meet at the beach, and the boys were comparing ideas for what to do. Mr. Davenport and Tasha were waiting for us, the RV already in the parking lot. We climbed into the back and we drove off.

"So, what do you want to do when we get there?" Chase asked, his arm around my shoulder. I smiled.

"Let's go surfing." I suggested, eyes a lit. I had taken surfing lessons years ago along with Jaden, Faith, her brother Trevor, and a friend of ours. I always went back on the water each summer. I was far from being an expert, but it was awesome.

"I want to check out the boardwalk." Chase told me, smiling. "I hear there are some pretty cool performers there on weekends."

"Yeah, there's a band every Friday and Saturday night in the summer." I remembered. "But I don't know who'd be playing tonight."

"I guess we'll find out, won't we?" he smiled and I smiled back, almost forgetting about the solar flare.

** Chase's POV **

Calla and I talked for a while more. Mostly random stuff – the new space exhibit at the science museum, new invention ideas, different bands we hoped would play at the boardwalk tonight. The others entertained themselves by playing cards.

Finally, we arrived. "We're here!" Bree called, looking out the window at the white sand and blue waves. I looked out the window next to her. Aside from the beach, there was the large boardwalk. I could see rides, games and booths as well. All in all, it looked like today was going to be wicked.

"Alright Tasha," Mr. Davenport led Tasha into the back of the RV. "Your totally tech-free weekend starts now."

Tasha smiled. "Great. I'm going to go claim our spot." She told us. "If we wait too long, we're going to end up sitting next to talkers. I hate friendly people."

"What a delightful thing to say." Calla muttered sarcastically. I chuckled.

"You go on ahead. I'll be right there." Mr. Davenport told Tasha as she left. We started to follow her. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Where do you guys think you're going? Did you forget about the solar flare?"

We frowned at him in confusion. "We do you expect us to do?" I asked. "Bionics can't stop a solar flare."

He just smiled. "No," he agreed "but I have something that can."

He reached for a painting on the wall and swung it to one side like a door. Behind it was a hand scanner. It quickly scanned Mr. Davenport's hand. "Identity Authorized."

The decorative painting behind the couch swung down, revealing a super computer and the table opened up to reveal a consol. The large, cylinder shaped column spun around and opened to show us a miniature rocket.

We all stared in shock, looking at all the technology. "Welcome to the Davenport Industries Mobile Action Lab." He told us.

"Very impressive, Big D." Leo told him sincerely. "You're the master of the ta-da moment!"

Mr. Davenport grinned. "Ta-da!" He sang before walking over to the consol. "I call her the ugly lady, because it's what's on the inside that really counts."

We all nodded our agreement. "You guys will launch the rocket, just like in your training simulations." He continued. "It will block the solar flare by releasing a cloud of heavy gas into the atmosphere."

"Cool." "Sweet!" "Awesome!" "Wicked!" "You're going down, sun!"

We all looked at Adam for a moment, then decided to ignore his comment. Mr. Davenport walked over to the super computer. "This super computer is calculating the precise time you need to launch the rocket. It could be minutes, it could be hours, you're just going to have to wait and see."

"In here?" Bree demanded. "But we're supposed to go to the beach!"

"Yeah, and I was supposed to be 6'1". Life is full of disappointments." He replied, then looked up at Adam. My brother stood almost a foot above him.

"Great, so we all have to pay the price for another short guy with an axe to grind." I complained. Mr. Davenport looked offended by the comment, but didn't dwell on it.

"Look, guys focus. It takes all three of you to initiate this sequence. Once the alert sounds, you'll have a two hour window to launch the rocket before the flare becomes unstoppable. Got it?"

"Yeah, we got it. Saving the world's going to ruin my vacation." Bree muttered. "Stupid world."

"Would you guys hurry up?" Tasha's voice came from outside. "There is a bulldog in sunglasses riding a surfboard!"

There was a splash. "Nevermind!"

We all exchanged looks. "Be right there honey!" Mr. Davenport called. "Look, as soon as you guys launch the rocket and save the world, you can get out of here and go get your beach on." We all looked at him again. "What? Still nothing?"

We shook our heads at him. "You know what, I don't need your approval. I'm rich."

We still glared at him, annoyed that our day was ruined by the solar flare. Logically, we knew that it wasn't anyone's fault, certainly not his, but we needed someone to blame.

"Am I the only one who thinks launching a rocket is cool?" Leo interrupted. "Big D, go slather on some SPF50…thousand. 50,000." He corrected himself. "I've got this."

"No, the only thing you've got is the uncanny ability to break the most expensive thing in the room." Mr. Davenport ushered him away from the consol. Leo looked down guiltily.

"Is this about your guitar?" he asked. Mr. Davenport froze.

"What about my guitar?" he questioned. Leo faked a smile.

"Let's go! We're missing the surfing bulldog!" He ran outside, Mr. Davenport following him.

"What about my guitar?" he demanded, the door closing shut behind him. Calla frowned.

"Seriously though, what happened to his guitar?" she asked. I smirked.

"Well, long story short, Leo was pretending to be a rock star and he smashed it during his finale." I explained. She smirked.

"Classic Leo." She muttered under her breath. She started towards the door.

"You're ditching us too?" Bree complained. Calla sent us all an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, but I do have to find my mom and Jaden." She reminded us. "I'll be back later though. Promise."

She gave me a quick peck on the lips before departing.

** Calla's POV **

"Hey! I'm back!" I called, sitting down on the blanket next to Jaden. We'd managed to get a spot right next to Tasha, Mr. Davenport and Leo. By this point, I'd gotten changed into my beach clothes. Even Jaden was dressed for the weather, only wearing his red swim trunks and a pair of sandals. He was currently lying face up on the blanket, soaking in some rays.

"Hey." He greeted, flipping his sunglasses up to look at me, before readjusting them. "When's that solar rocket thingy going to be over? I texted Bree half an hour ago and offered to teach her how to surf."

"I'm sure she'd love that." I told him. "But I don't know when it's going to be over."

"Hmm." Was his reply. He frowned and sat up, looking past me. "What are those two up to?"

I glanced over my shoulder to see Leo and Mr. Davenport huddled around a…can of soda? Something about that seemed odd. "I'm going to go check."

I got to my feet and walked over to them. "There is no such thing as a tech-free weekend." I heard Mr. Davenport whisper to Leo.

"Oh, so you lied to your wife?" I asked, careful to keep my voice down. They looked a little surprised to see me. I didn't give them a chance to explain the comment. "What's that?" I gestured at the soda can.

"It's a phone." Leo replied simply. I leaned in close as he held the can/phone up to his ear.

" _Super boring Mission Headquarters, Bree speaking."_  Bree's voice came out of the bottom of the can/phone. I gave Mr. Davenport a thumbs up, impressed with the gadget.

"Hey Bree, how's the mission?" Leo whispered into it. Suddenly, Tasha looked up from her conversation with my mom.

"Leo, what are you drinking?" she questioned.

"Calla you back cola?" he didn't sound too sure of his lie.

"You know you're not supposed to drink soda. It makes you all jumpy." Tasha scolded, holding her hand out for the can/phone. "Give me that."

We all exchanged looks, wondering if we should do as she asked. But because we were all too terrified of her glare, we decided it was in our best interest to give her the can/phone. The second Leo placed it in her hands, she tossed it into the open cooler. Somehow, she missed the sparks that flew from it and the smoke that rose from the cooler when it hit the partially melted ice.

"I should have sprung for the six-pack." Mr. Davenport muttered. I almost laughed.

"Well, Big D, it looks like we're going to have to check in with them the old fashion way." Leo decided. "With my feet, my face, and a whole lot of this."

He grinned and pointed at Mr. Davenport. Said inventor stared at him for a moment.

"Just hurry back. The only reason I'm letting you go in the first place is so that you stopping doing that," he mimicked Leo's pointing thing, "anywhere near me."

I rolled my eyes. "Come on Leo."

"Calla, since I can't supervise from here, you're in charge." Mr. Davenport called after me. I nodded and grinned at the thought of getting a higher ranked position than normal.

I led Leo to the RV, where our three best friends were waiting impatiently for the solar flare. "Hey super sibs." Leo started doing that pointing thing when we entered the RV. "how's the mission going?"

"This stinks! We're going to miss the whole stupid day in this stupid lab waiting for the stupid computer! It's all just so…dumb!" Adam complained.

"Why don't you take turns coming to the beach with us?" Leo suggested.

"We can't. The launch procedure requires all three of us." Chase reminded him. Suddenly, Adam's face lit up.

"But if there are three of us, plus two, then two can stay and three can go until we need three. And then one can stay and one can go get the one that's having fun with the other two." Adam frowned, looking at his fingers. "Wait, somebody check my math."

I just stared at him, stunned that he figured all that out on his own. "He's right." Chase was just as shocked. "Someone pat him on the head and give him a biscuit."

Adam did a little dance to celebrate his mathematical victory. "Cool, so one of us can leave?" Bree asked, looking at Leo and I excitedly. Chase nodded.

"I say we should put it up to a vote-" "Me first!" Bree interrupted him. "Come on guys!"

Suddenly, she was grabbing Leo and I by the arms. We were then sped right onto the board walk. "God Bree…" I moaned when she released us. I could feel my stomach churn from the sudden speed. "Give me a warning next time. Super speed and two cans of Pepsi do not mix."

"You're fine." She brushed me off. "So, what do you want to do first? Oh, do you know where Jaden is?"

"Getting ice cream?" We turned to see my brother standing behind us, an amused smirk on his face. He was holding a tray full of ice cream. "I was actually going to bring you all some."

Bree just looked at him. "You're shirtless." She observed. Jaden nodded and smirked.

"Yes, yes I am." He agreed. She nodded, eyes on his chest. I rolled my eyes. Seriously guys? Seriously?

"Okay then." She said after a moment. "Thanks for the ice cream."

She grabbed one of the cones from the tray. "Now, time for you to show me around."

She grabbed his arm and started pulling him down the boardwalk. I rolled my eyes.

"Thanks for inviting us!" I called to them, but my voice landed on deaf ears. Leo smirked at me.

"You knew that was going to happen." He told me. I rolled my eyes at him.

"Yeah, yeah. Come on. Let's have fun. We'll trade Bree out for Chase in an hour." I decided.

** Chase's POV **

Adam and I both ran outside the second Bree left with Calla and Leo. "They're gone!" I complained.

"So gone!" Adam agreed.

"This is not fair!" I muttered.

"So not fair!" He agreed.

"She is so not going to get away with this." I decided. Adam nodded.

"So not going to get away with this." He replied. Suddenly, I had an idea.

"You know what? I'm going to march right down to that beach and I'm going to find her. Even if it takes me all day." I announced. Adam, being the dimwit that he was, agreed with me completely.

"Yeah! Make her pay!" he pushed me down towards the beach. I ran ahead, only half looking for Bree. Likely, I'd end up running into her, Leo and Calla, then send the first two back so I could get some private vacation time with my girlfriend. Besides, what were the chances of the solar flare happening before I found them?

** Calla's POV **

"How are you so good at that?" I demanded, holding my new stuffed dolphin under my arm. Leo just shrugged, holding both a giant crab and a shark.

"I don't know. Ring toss just comes easy to me, I…" he trailed off suddenly, the smile fading from his face. "Is that Chase?"

I looked in the direction Leo was gesturing and saw my boyfriend dancing right next to a silver painted man. Suddenly, a gasp came from behind us.

"What's Chase doing out here?" We turned to see Bree and Jaden running towards us, the latter carrying a massive teddy bear on his back.

"Chase?" I ran over to him. "What are you doing here?"

"Watching this guy." He replied, grinning. "People keep giving him money, but he just won't leave."

"They're not paying him to leave, they're paying him because…you know what, it's not important." I muttered. "You're supposed to be watching the mobile lab."

"No worries. Adam's watching it." He replied. I stared at him, wondering if he realized just how badly those two phrases contradicted each other.

"What's up beach bums!" Adam walked over, a sun hat on his head and a tray full of ice cream in his arm. I glanced at Chase.

"You were saying?" I questioned. He ignored me.

"Adam, what are you doing here?" he demanded.

"Well, I wanted an ice cream cone, but they had twenty one flavours." Adam replied. "And you know me; I'm never one to make an uninformed decision."

"Get rid of those. We need to get back to the mobile lab!" I ordered. Adam nodded.

"Okay." He looked around. "Free ice cream!"

He handed an ice cream cone to a surfer that walked by. "Thanks dude." The guy grinned.

"Oh, and don't worry; it's barely been licked." Adam assured him. The boy gave him a look and walked off.

"Alright, back to the mobile lab. That's an order." I grabbed Chase's hand and started pulling him back to the parking lot where we parked the RV.

"Hey, we were just trying to have some fun." He muttered. I nodded.

"I know. And I should have made Bree switch with ne of you a while ago. But Mr. Davenport left me in charge and I wanted to do it right." I told him. He smiled in understanding. But before he said anything, his eyes went wide.

"Oh no." He muttered. I followed hi gaze. I should have seen a giant RV sitting in the parking lot. Instead, there were no vehicles in sight.

"Where's the mobile lab?" Bree demanded, looking at us in confusion. "It was parked right here!"

"It's gone!" Leo gasped. I sent him a glare.

"No shit, Sherlock." I muttered.

"Okay, alright. Everyone calm down and don't panic." Chase told us. Suddenly, Adam screamed. We all stared at him.

"Sorry, brain-freeze." He explained. He frowned. "Hey, where's the RV?"

"How could the mobile lab just disappear?" Bree questioned.

"Maybe it got tired of waiting and it split like we did." Adam suggested. We ignored him.

"We have to tell Mr. Davenport." I decided. Chase looked at me.

"And what are we supposed to tell him? 'Hey, remember that really easy mission where all we had to do was sit around and wait? Well, guess what? We totally blew it and the world is toast. Oopsie.'"

I frowned. "Well, we don't have to say it like that." I defended myself. Suddenly, I saw what looked like a cop on scooter. "Sir!" I called, waving my hands to get his attention.

He pushed his scooter over to us and I recognized him as Erik. He was one of the lower ranked officers that occasionally helped out at the station where my mom worked. "Officer Erik, we'd like to report a stolen RV. It was parked right here and it's imperative that we-"

"Cool your jets, kid." He interrupted me. "I had it towed."

"What?" Adam demanded. "Why?"

"Your car alarm has been going off for like an hour, dude!" Erik exclaimed. Car alarm? Oh, crap. "Plus," Erik didn't noticed the looks of horror on our faces, "I thought it would be funny to watch a little tow truck pull that huge thing away. It was."

Chase looked at me. "Car alarm?" he repeated softly, coming to the same conclusion as me.

"If you guys want your RV back, you're going to have to cough up two hundred clams." Erik informed us. Adam sighed.

"Okay, but does it have to be clams? Personally, I'm more a shrimp guy." Adam told him. Erik gave him a look. I smiled at him, trying to look innocent.

"Officer Erik, we didn't mean for the alarm to go off. We'll be more careful next time, but we don't have that much money. Is there any way you could let us off easy? As a favour to my mom?" I asked, smiling. He shook his head.

"Sorry kid." He rolled his scooter away.

"Seriously?" I questioned. "That smile always gets me what I want!"

"Not this time sis." Jaden chuckled. I sent him a glare.

"Guys, that 'car alarm' was the computer's alarm telling us that we need to launch the rocket." Chase told everyone who hadn't figured it out yet.

"So that means we have under an hour to collect two hundred dollars to get the mobile lab back, stop the solar flare, and wrestle a shark!" Leo exclaimed. We all stared at him, mainly because of that last part. "What? You're bionic and we're at the beach. I'd like to do one fun thing today."

"We need to tell Mr. Davenport." I said again. "He'll lend us the money to get the RV back."

"No, no way. We can still fix this." Chase argued. "I know how we can get the money fast."

Chase and the others started running off. I looked at them, not following. If his idea was what I thought it was… "Chase! Nobody's going to pay to see you wrestle a shark!"

** Chase's POV **

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls!" Leo called putting on his best showman's face. Calla smiled dazzlingly beside him.

"Step right up and see the wonders of the Calla and Leo's Legendary Boardwalk Freak show!" She announced.

"Sideshow." I corrected.

"Whatever." She replied. Whenever Calla was trying to show off or sell something, she was all about business. She didn't notice anyone else but the people she was trying to impress.

"First, direct your attention and your dollars to Adam the incredibly, but not suspiciously, strong man!"

Adam walked out onto the center of the boardwalk. Already, a lot of people had come by to watch. Adam walked over to a little girl wearing a pink bunny shirt.

"Hey sweetie, you like bunnies?" he asked. She nodded, grinning. "Me too. Check this out."

He pulled a metal sign out of the ground with ease, earning a few "oohs". He then proceeded to bend the bar until it looked like a bunny.

"Here you go." He offered the shape to the girl. She reached for it, but dropped it because it was too heavy. Everyone burst into applause and started putting money into the hat Jaden was passing around.

"Wasn't that amazing folks?" Leo asked. Calla nodded.

"It sure was, Leo. Now, keep your eyes and your wallets open for Bree, the Magnificent Mistress of Magic!"

Bree walked forward, basking in the spotlight. "Do I have a volunteer?" She asked. Silence. She looked around, then pointed at a guy with a red hat. "Looks like it's you, big guy."

The man stepped forward as Bree pulled a sand dollar out of her pocket. "Okay people. Keep your eye on the shell." She instructed. She waved it for a moment, then sped around the man too fast for anyone to see. When she stopped, both her hands were closed. "Where is it?"

The man chose her right hand. She opened it to show that it was empty. "Nope, and look over here." She opened her other hand and held up a plastic card. "Bam! Your driver's license!"

The man reached for his wallet and opened it up. He then pulled the sand dollar out of it and lifted to for all to see.

"Bravo!" Calla called as Jaden once again passed the hat along. Bree looked down at the driver's licence.

"You know, I never would have guessed you were bald under there." She murmured, handing the card back to the man.

"Her flying fingers are quicker than the human eye!" Calla announced. "But it's actually a simple trick that's not that impressive once you know how to do it."

"And last, but not least," Leo continued. "Let's keep it going for the amazing Chase, who will…"

Silence. "What can you do that won't bore people?" he whispered to me. I smirked.

"I got this." I assured him, stepping forward. "Now if someone could kindly give me a prime number with at least four digits, I will mathematically extrapolate-"

"Good job!" Calla interrupted me. "Let's give him a hand! Yeah!"

Everyone started to walk away, despite our attempts to catch their attention once more. Suddenly, Officer Erik rolled his scooter over to us. He grinned. "Great show, guys."

"Thanks." I grinned back. He sent me a glare.

"I was talking to Calla and the shorter one." He snapped. "You totally bombed bro."

"It wasn't that bad…oh, who am I kidding?" Calla gave up trying to defend me. "Sorry babe, but no one wants to see math outside of school."

I rolled my eyes. "Now," Officer Erik said loudly, "unless you dudes want to shoot the curl on a long board of hurt, you'd best show me your performance permits, like right now."

"We don't have permits! We're busted!" Adam exclaimed. I rolled my eyes, smirking. We had nothing to be worried about.

"Relax. He's wearing flip-flops and his squad car has handle bars. He's not even a real cop!"

** Calla's POV **

"Yet he has a real jail." Chase muttered as the iron bars closed in front of our faces.

I sighed and sat down on one of the benches. "We're so dead." I muttered. I looked up at Jaden. "Mom's going to kill us."

"I know." He agreed. I glanced at Chase.

"So, what's the plan?" I questioned.

"There's only one thing left for us to do." He decided. "We have to find a way to get in touch with Mr. Davenport fast."

"Really? Why didn't I think of that?" I asked sarcastically. "Oh wait, I did."

Usually, I wasn't this harsh. But considering that we were sitting in a jail cell because Chase had the idea of doing a sideshow performance, I felt I had enough of a reason. "Besides, how are we supposed to talk to him?"

"I know! I'll just call him." Adam replied. "DAVENPORT!"

Suddenly, the door to the beach police station opened and Mr. Davenport was walked in by a long haired officer. We looked at him, a little surprised by the coincidence. "I can't believe that worked!" Adam chuckled.

"I did not steal anything!" Mr. Davenport told the officers, not even noticing us. "That woman committed assault with a deadly floatie."

He was ignored and shoved into the cell with us. "AH!" He screamed upon seeing us. We all waved, guilty smiles on our faces.

Leo got up and walked over to him. "Long story short, we botched the mission, world is doomed, solar flare is coming…Oopsie."

Mr. Davenport looked like he was seconds away from freaking out. "You know, an hour ago I was a little freaked out because I didn't know what was happening, But now I think I preferred the mystery! What are we going to do?"

"I can use my strength to break us out." Adam suggested.

"Good one." Mr. Davenport praised him. "Okay, we have to find a way to distract Captain Co-Co Butter over there."

We looked past him to see Erik doing an air drum solo with him headphones on. Bree smirked.

"If only we had a burrito or like a monster wave, dude." She mocked the man. Mr. Davenport rolled his eyes.

"Luckily, there is a master inventor in the house. Everyone empty your pockets."

We did as he asked. "Stick of gum." "Two dimes." "Paperclip." "Nine volt battery." "Bobbi pin."

We all looked at Chase, who held the pin up. "What? Bree had a nine volt battery but no one found that weird." He said, adding him pin to the pile.

"All I have to do," Mr. Davenport announced while assembling the objects, "is take these items and fashion a makeshift phone out of them." We looked at him skeptically. "Who am I kidding? This is a bunch of pocket junk. I can't do anything with this."

Suddenly, someone's ringtone started going off. "It works!" Mr. Davenport gasped, shocked. I rolled my eyes and pointed at Erik. Everyone watched as he picked up his cell phone and answered it.

"Hello?" He greeted. He listened for a second. "What? What do you mean somebody's towing my scooter, dude!"

He dropped the phone and stumbled out of the police station. "Now's our chance!" Mr. Davenport hissed. "Adam, be discreet. Turn the lock pin ever so slightly."

Instead, Adam just pulled the door from it's hinges. "Oops."

Mr. Davenport just shrugged. "That will work too. Let's go."

We ran from the jailhouse and started searching for the RV.

** Chase's POV **

When we finally got inside the mobile lab, the alarm was still going off. But that wasn't the bad part. The bad part was that the entire place had been trashed, everything out of place and on the ground.

"Oh no. Everything got messed when the RV got towed!" Adam exclaimed.

"This is bad. This is really bad." I told them, worried.

"Yeah, it is." Mr. Davenport agreed, looking at the bill in his hands. "200$ to get my RV back, 200$ for disorderly conduct, and 100$ for stealing a cell phone! What were you thinking?"

"That was you!" Leo reminded him. He stopped, then looked at the screen.

"There is a solar flare heading towards us right now!" he exclaimed, changing the subject.

"I'm freaking out!" Adam announced, starting to panic.

"Don't panic." Mr. Davenport told us. "In simulations, you guys have launched this rocket in two minutes and you still got…"

"Launch window closes in sixty seconds." He computer announced.

"…half that." Mr. Davenport finished. "Okay, we're going to have to work together. Adam, pick up that rocket. Jaden and Leo, find the launch keys. Bree, consol. Calla and Chase, you're going to have to help me figure out the launch vectors."

"Right." We both agreed, starting to type. Mr. Davenport started panicking.

"All the launch vectors have been corrupted in every system. The computer isn't fast enough to recalculate them." He muttered. He ran over to the other computer, while Calla and I took over here.

"Bree, how many words can you type in a minute?" I questioned as Calla got out the paper manual.

"All of them." My sister replied, as if I was stupid. To be fair, it was a stupid question.

"Right, I knew that. Type this in." I ordered. "Launch to 60,000 feet. Then change the altitude to generate negative K alpha in four percent of the predicted trajectory."

"And then," Calla continued for me, "fire rocket thrusters to initiate aerial raid."

Bree sped over and slammed her hand down on the red button next to us. "Done." Bree, Calla and I said at once.

"Done." Mr. Davenport and Adam confirmed.

"Launch window closes in 10…9…8…" We looked at Leo.

"The launch keys!" Mr. Davenport exclaimed as Leo pulled the keys out of a box by the door.

"I found them, I found them." He handed one to Mr. Davenport.

"7…6…5…"

"They have to be turned at the same time!" Mr. Davenport had to shout to be heard over the computer's countdown. "The other keyhole is over there."

Leo started running towards the keyhole. "4…3…2…" He leapt at the last moment, sliding the key in and turning it as the computer hit one. Mr. Davenport turned the key at the same moment and the whole RV shook as the rocket launched into the air. We all hit the floor. A few seconds later, when the shaking stopped, we got to our feet.

"Did it work?" Jaden asked, helping Bree up.

"Everything looks good. It's on target." Mr. Davenport replied. We watched on the monitor as the rocket flew into space, exploding into a white gas when it reached the solar flare. The fire from the flare disappeared.

"Solar flare neutralized." The computer announced.

"Yes!" we cheered, everyone hugging each other.

Mr. Davenport turned to us, smiling. "You guys can go have fun at the beach now." He told us. We grinned.

"Finally!" Suddenly, another alarm went off.

"Oh no!" Mr. Davenport shouted, leaning against the consol.

"What now?" we demanded. It had better no be another solar flare.

"Nothing, I was just messing with you." Mr. Davenport replied, smirking. "It was my car alarm."

"Really?" I demanded, ignoring his high-five. We walked out of the RV, intending to have some fun at the beach for the first time today.

** Calla's POV **

"Hey guys!" Tasha greeted as we ran over to her. We'd come straight here after leaving the RV. Well, we made one quick stop. We'd left our stuffed animals at the boardwalk and had to go back and get them. Surprisingly, they hadn't been stolen.

"Hey Tasha, check out what Jaden won for me." Bree smiled proudly, holding the massive teddy bear over her shoulders. I sent my brother a smirk, who just rolled his eyes.

"It's really nice Bree." Tasha replied. My mom smiled.

"That was really sweet of you Jaden." She told him. Tasha looked at us.

"Did you guys have fun today?" She asked. We nodded.

"Yeah" "it was a blast" "really fun" "we won a bunch of prizes" "we weren't in jail, that's for sure." "The ice cream was good." We all replied.

"That's great." Tasha started to pack her stuff together. "Well, I don't know about you guys, but I've had my fill of fun for the day, so let's go home."

"That's a good idea." My mom agreed. We all looked at them, despair on our faces.

"Go home?" Bree repeated. "But we didn't get to do anything fun yet!"

Both moms looked at us. "Wait, if you guys haven't had fun all day, then what have you been doing?" Tasha asked suspiciously. We exchanged looks, a silent agreement between all of us.

"Home it is then." We decided, practically running back to the vehicles before they could ask anymore questions.


	11. Death Spiral Smackdown

** Leo's POV **

"Gym class, fun." Calla muttered sarcastically as we walked into the gym. To our surprise, a large platform covered by a white sheet sat in the middle. "Oh no! It's fitness challenge week, isn't it?"

Fitness challenge week was this competition Perry liked to put on every year. Basically, the entire gym class would split into teams of two and had to participate in whatever torture Perry put together. The winning team would get out gym class for a week.

Ever since Calla and I met, we'd partnered up with each other. Usually, we'd lose in the first few rounds, then watch as everyone else had to do it. But not this year. Because this year, I wanted to win. And

"Oh, hey Adam." Calla greeted randomly as he walked over to us. He smiled, then looked at the platform.

"What's that?" he asked. Before he could answer, Perry walked in.

"Prepare yourselves, Dingoes!" she announced loudly. "It's time for my annual fitness challenge week. This year, forget about push-ups, sit-ups…it's time for bruises, sprains, and freak accidents!"

She pulled a remote out of her bag. "I present the Death Spiral Smackdown!"

She pressed a button and a wire pulled the sheet off the platform. It was red with flaming skulls on it. In the middle was a blue and red spinning circle. Smoke burst from holes on the sides of the circle.

"Whoa." "Wicked." "Cool." Adam, Calla and I murmured.

"Well, say what you want about it, but she knows how to bring the sizzle." Adam commented. Calla and I nodded in agreement as Perry stepped up onto the platform.

"Why do you call it the Death Spiral?" I asked curiously. "I mean, it doesn't look so scary to me."

Bad questioned. Perry looked really, really annoyed. She grabbed one of the teachers and pushed him onto the circle. "Why don't I have Vice Principal Tanner demonstrate for you?"

Calla looked at me and frowned. "Wait, we have a vice principal?" she questioned.

Perry pressed a button on her remote and the circle in the middle of the platform started spinning really fast. It was more than enough to knock Vice Principal Tanner off his feet. He tried to get back up, but the circle was spinning too fast. In a matter of seconds, the speed of the circle's spinning grew to be too much. The momentum threw him off the platform, causing him to fly across the room.

"Not anymore." I said to Calla with a slight smirk. She rolled her eyes.

Adam walked over to Perry. "Wait, so how does it work?" He asked.

"You wrestle your opponent as it spins you silly. It'll test your strength, reflexes, and ability to hold you bladder against centrifugal force!" Perry replied gleefully. Adam faked a smile and looked at the platform nervously.

"So, do you think you can handle it, Leo?" Calla questioned, looking at it.

"Well, my bladder's strong, but just to be safe I'm going to get a full body diaper. In the face of fear, you never know where you're going to leak from." I replied. She made a face.

"I'll stick to dark gym shorts." She said. Perry looked back at the crowd just then.

"If you have the guts, partner up and choose carefully. Your survival depends on the decision you make and there are very few good options." Perry laughed.

Calla looked at me. "So, when we lose this year, are we going to wear those capes we did last year?" she asked.

I hesitated before answering. Calla was one of my best friends, not to mention she was one of the only girls in the school that spoke to me. But if I wanted to win, I couldn't partner up with her. But I didn't want to hurt her feelings either, because if her feelings are hurt, she'll hurt you.

"Listen Calla…I don't want to lose, I want to be a winner. So this year, we're going in a different direction."

Calla grinned. "Thank god. I really hated those capes. What's the plan?"

"Well, this year, we're going to have different partners." I replied. Calla frowned at me.

"Oh, I get it." She nodded. There was a hint of hurt in her voice, along with some annoyance. "That's fine. There a plenty of people I can partner up with that are better than you."

I sighed. "I'm sorry, Calla, but with my new partner, I'm going to win this thing."

Perry must have been listening, because she walked over with a smirk on her face. "You're going to try this again? Last year you threw your back out picking your wedgie!"

I glared at her as she walked away. "Well, this year's going to be different because this year, I have a secret weapon." As I spoke, I walked over to Adam and patted his arm.

"Ooh, what is it?" The older boy asked. I sighed.

"You." I informed him. He looked at me for a second.

"That is a good secret." He agreed. He looked at Perry. "I didn't even know about it."

"Seriously, you're choosing Adam over me?" Calla demanded, arms crossed. I nodded, smiling apologetically at her. She smirked then. "Alright, fine. This should be fun."

She walked away, the smirk still on her face. I wasn't sure what she was planning, but I should have been scared.

** Xxx **

I grinned at Bree and Chase, getting the milk and juice out for breakfast. "After school today is the big Death Spiral Smackdown. Me and Adam are going to UNLEASH the fury!"

They looked at me. "Yeah I heard about that." Chase replied, finishing off his toast. "Calla's pretty annoyed with you."

"Well, she'll get over it. Are you guys going to come watch?" I asked.

"We'd love to," Chase replied "but we're going to go to the mall and check out the escalator. I finally mastered the art of stepping off without tripping. Calla was going to come, but she's got to do that Death Spiral Smackdown thing too."

"Oh, were we supposed to do that today?" Bree asked, sounding guilty. "Shoot, I can't make it. I have…I have a really big test to study for."

"What?" Chase looked so devastated. "Okay fine. I just hope those old ladies are there to clap for me again."

I smirked and went to the cupboard to get some cereal. I pulled out a jar of some unfamiliar pellets. "I've never had this cereal before." I muttered, taking a handful.

"Leo, don't!" Bree exclaimed. I turned back to her and Chase. "Those are power pellets!"

I raised an eyebrow at her. "I don't care what they're called as long as they make my milk chocolaty." I replied, grinning.

"No, they're bite sized pieces of adrenaline that activate our bionics." Chase explained.

"Yeah, but we don't eat them anymore because we learned how to activate them ourselves." Bree continued.

Chase chuckled. "They taste like dog treats without the livery aftertaste." We both looked at him. "I'm guessing."

"I guess I'll just have these." I picked up a second box of cereal, only for Chase to rip it out of my hands.

"Careful Leo." He wanred. "Those are Powdered Sugar Cookie Donut Os. Studies have shown they slow down your brain activity."

Adam chose that moment to walk into the room. "Yummy!" he gasped. "Powdered Sugar Cookie Donut Os!"

"Adam," Chase started. He stopped midsentence when he got a text. "Nevermind. Calla and Jaden are waiting at the bus stop. See you guys!"

Both he and Bree walked out the door as Adam sat down. I grinned. "Adam, here is our Smackdown game plan. I will distract everyone while you use your bionics to crush our opponents."

Adam didn't grin like I expected him to. "Leo, bionics are for missions. Using them for a school competition would just be wrong."

My smile fell. "But you have to use your bionics! It's the whole reason I chose you! It's the weapon part of our secret weapon!"

"Bummer! You thought I was going to use bionics and you blew off Calla. You do realize she's going to kill you for that, right?"

I sighed. I did not need a reminder of that. I walked back to the counter and suddenly, an idea hit me. It was devious, I would get in a lot of trouble if I got caught, but it would work!

"Adam, let me help you with that!" I grabbed the juice container and started pouring the orange liquid into his cereal bowl.

"Leo, you're ruining my cereal!" he exclaimed. I frowned.

"Am I?" I tasted the liquid. "You're right. That is not milk. Let me fix that."

I grabbed all the containers off the counter and brought it to the other table. I grabbed a bowl and poured a little of the power pellets into it. I put a handful of the cereal in, then mixed the two in the cereal box. I poured the milk into the bowl and brought it back to Adam.

"There you go." I smiled. "Eat up teammate."

He just looked at me. "I can't eat this. Not without a spoon."

"Right, sorry." I handed him a spoon, then grinned as he shovelled the cereal/pellet mix into his mouth. This would be fun.

** Chase's POV **

"Hey, I'm really sorry I can't go to the mall with you later." Calla apologized as I got my bag out of my locker.

"It's fine. The competition's important to you." I replied. She smiled.

"Why don't we go on the weekend? Then Bree can come with us because her test is going to be done." She suggested. I nodded.

"Yeah, sure…" I trailed off. Bree, who was supposed to be at home studying, was standing in the corridor, chatting with Jaden. "What's she still doing here?"

"Yeah, she's not studying for a test." Calla told me, shaking her head.

I frowned and focused my bionic hearing on Bree and Jaden.

"So, a bunch of the guys and I are going to the park later. Isaac's going to show his girlfriend Kelsey a couple of skateboarding tricks to impress her. I thought maybe you'd like to come along? That way Kelsey won't be the only girl there." Jaden was saying. Bree nodded eagerly.

"Whatever we do, I have to avoid Chase. I totally ditched him to hang out with you and your friends." She replied.

I stared at her in shock. "She lied to me!" I gasped. Calla bit her lip.

"Babe, I don't think you needed bionics to figure that one out." She told me. I ignored the comment.

"She thinks she can just ditch me and get away with it? She is going down!" I exclaimed. Calla rolled her eyes.

"Chase, I know you want to hang out with her and Adam all the time, but you have to let her hang out with her own friends, or in this case, her future boyfriend." She told me.

"I do not want to hang out with them ALL the time." I muttered. Calla smirked.

"Yes you do. It's part of being the baby in the family. I was the same way when Jaden started ditching me for his teammates." She informed me. I rolled my eyes.

"Don't you want to hear about my revenge, or not?" I questioned. She thought about it.

"Okay, spill." She ordered. I grinned.

"You remember my override app, right?" I asked. She nodded, eyes lighting up mischievously. "Watch this."

I raised my hand to my temple and activated the app. "Connect to Bree." I ordered.

Once it was connected, it was time for a little fun. I slapped myself in the face gently and watched in amusement as Bree did the same thing, except for much harder.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Why am I hitting myself?" Bree demanded. Even Calla couldn't help but laugh.

Unfortunately, Jaden had to ruin it. He grabbed Bree's hands, holding them at her sides so she would stop. "Everything alright, Bree?" he questioned, an amused and confused smirk on his face.

"Yeah, I don't know what that was about." She replied. She removed her hands from Jaden's grasp. "I'm going to go."

She ran off, obviously embarrassed and confused. Calla smirked and rolled her eyes.

"Okay, you've had your fun. Now stop tormenting the poor girl and go ride your escalators." She kissed me quickly before rushing off to talk to some guy. "Yo, Kevin!"

** Leo's POV **

"Twenty-three…twenty-four…twenty-five!" I exclaimed, finishing my jumping jacks. Adam, of course, had already done a hundred. He was really, really pumped for today.

"Wow, that cereal's really got me going!" he exclaimed. "I feel like I can bite the head off of a gazelle! Nom, nom, nom, nom, nom!"

"Great! Let's focus that…disturbing energy on winning!" I told him. Suddenly, an amused voice from behind me caught my attention.

"Hey Adam, Dooley." I turned to see Calla standing there, her arms crossed. "You know, you're not the only one with a secret weapon."

"Oh really?" I asked, wondering what she could have that could beat us. She looked over her shoulder.

"Kevin!" she called. One of the largest people I've ever seen walked over. Seriously, he was massive. Calla smirked at my expression. "His name's Kevin Mitchell, but everyone calls him Destructo. He's a second year senior, is on the football team, and has won the school's wrestling competition for the past three years. I tutored him in physics last semester and he's agreed to be my partner. Scared?"

"No." I replied. "I have him."

Adam nodded. "They call me Adam-o." He frowned, thinking about the name. He turned to me. "I need a new name."

Before Calla and I could get into an argument over who's secret weapon was better (we all know that's what was going to happen) Perry walked to the center of the platform.

"Listen up, you flabby, weak underachievers!" she called. "Here's how this works. Two teams face off and the first team thrown off the platform loses. Sudden death with no second chances."

She looked around and pointed at Adam and I. "Short kid and doofus, you're up against spaghetti legs and bowl cut."

She pointed at two guys behind her. They climbed onto the circle, standing across from us. "Let's get ready to spiral!" she announced, everyone (especially Adam) getting pumped.

She tried to blow her air horn, but no sound came out. Eventually, she just got annoyed and gave up. "GO!" She shouted, starting the match.

The circle started to spin. The crowd started cheering as we started to fight. Adam and bowl cut grabbed arms, trying to physically push the other off the circle while skinny legs started chasing me around them. After a few seconds, the circle started spinning faster and faster.

"Leo!" Adam called suddenly. He grabbed me by the arm, then slammed his foot down beside the circle. He used his strength to stop it, mid-spin. Skinny legs and bowl cut, both unprepared for the sudden stop, flew off the circle.

"Way to stick the landing!" Perry shouted, laughing. "Next!"

"We won!" I cheered. "I am the death spiral master!"

"AHH!" Adam roared. He looked at me, his eyes flashing red as if he was about to use his laser vision.

"He's the death spiral master!" I corrected. He grinned and cheered.

** Chase's POV **

I looked up from my book just in time to see Bree walking up to Jaden. I grinned. Time to have some more fun.

"Hey Jay, sorry about earlier. I don't know what came over me." She apologized.

"It's cool. We all have our moments." He replied. I smirked and activated the override app.

"Thanks. Oops sa goo sober leaks buba tanoo."We both said at the same time. Bree frowned, confused as to what she just said. Jaden raised an eyebrow, also confused.

"Bree, you're having a lot of moments." Jaden told her. Bree rushed to fix things.

"No, it's just…I speak Swedish. Me coopley ano mora boy dante." She said, brushing her hair back. Jaden smirked. "And Spanish…apparently."

"It's cool. It's actually kinda cute." He chuckled. I raised an eyebrow. Cute huh?

"Oh dude," Bree said. "Check out those hot babes. Think one of them will go out with me?"

Bree's eyes widened and she clapped her hands over her mouth. Jaden stared at her for a moment. "…Okay then. You clearly need some personal time. We can go to the park some other time." He said, walking off.

"Jaden!" Bree called after him, but he was already gone. I smirked, leaning up against my locker. I knew that revenge wasn't the nice thing to do, but it sure was fun.

Bree looked around, trying to see if anyone saw anything. Her eyes locked on mine and realization washed over her. "You." She growled, storming over. "You did this. You're using that stupid override app, aren't you?"

I didn't even try to deny it. "Yep, because you lied to me. Well, since you used bionics on me, I'm going to use mine on you. And beware, it's coming when you least expect it."

"Ooh, those are some big words coming from a manly Spanish speaking Swede." I countered. She looked mad. Very mad. But I didn't care. Without another word, I walked away to join Calla in the gym.

** Leo's POV **

Six rounds later and Adam and I were still winning. In fact, we were one of the two finalists.

"You just keep getting better and better!" I exclaimed to Adam. He nodded.

"I know! And I'm not even trying!" He practically screamed. I high fived him and was about to go brag to Calla when a surprised shout stopped me.

"What the…" We all looked at Chase, who's appearance was rather…strange. His clothes were all ripped so you could see his knees and his stomach. He was also wearing a rainbow coloured clown wig, a large red nose, and a dingo tail.

Chase looked around, face red with embarrassment. Everyone in the room was laughing. Even Calla was, although she tried to hide it behind her hands. Chase's eyes rested on Bree, who was smirking.

"You're going to pay for this." He growled, turning around. He ripped off the dingo tail before storming out.

"I want that tail." Adam decided, pointing at it. Before I could retrieve it for him, Perry decided to butt in.

"This is it!" She announced. "The final showdown!" she looked at me. "Who'd have you'd make it. A 90 pounder like you should have eaten it in round two."

"Yeah, tell him!" Calla called.

"Shut it, Parker!" Perry snapped at her. She motioned for Calla and Kevin to come onto the platform with us.

"You're going down, Dooley." Calla growled at me. I could tell that she was still kinda upset with me for choosing Adam over her.

"Three…two…one…GO!" Perry shouted. Kevin and Adam started at it, while Calla tried to push me off the circle. I pushed against her as well, but really, we were the same strength.

"Leo!" Adam grabbed me and I climbed onto his back. He started pushing the circle with his foot causing it to go faster and faster until Calla and Kevin flew off, crashing into a crowd of people.

"We won! We won!" I cheered, expecting Adam to be happy. But he wasn't.

"Wait, that's it? That can't be it! I'm way too pumped for this to be over! I want more, more, MORE!" He shouted.

"Leo!" Bree called my name just then. She motioned for me to come over and I did, grateful to get away from Adam. "What's going on with Adam?"

"He's just a winner. Like me. Me and Adam are winners." She gave me a look. "I didn't do anything."

"Did you give him power pellets?" Bree asked, crossing her arms.

"Just one…" I replied "…bowl."

"WHAT?" Bree demanded. "Too many of those pellets will keep his adrenaline going! It'll snowball and he won't be able to turn his bionics off!"

I shrugged. "It doesn't matter now. WE WON!"

"Now, onto the finals!" Perry declared behind me. I turned to her, eyes widening.

"What?" I questioned.

"There can only be one true winner of the Death Spiral Smackdown." Perry explained, her arm on my shoulder. She led me over to Adam, who was playing with a basketball to keep his hands busy. "So tomorrow, we go mano-a-mano. Gentlemen, your teammate is now your enemy."

"I need to go against him?" I demanded. Adam crushed the basketball between his hands and Perry smirked.

"Yep. So you go home and get some rest. I'm going to go home and get my camera."

She and Adam walked off, the latter surrounded by several of the kids that were watching the competition.

** Xxx **

"Hey Leo, Bree, do I seem a little jittery to you?" Adam asked. All the way home, he'd been bouncing as he walked, unable to stay still for two seconds. Bree and I hadn't been able to calm him down at all. "Huh, huh? Do I? ANSWER ME!"

"A little jittery? No. Completely maniacal and full of rage? Maybe." I replied. Bree nodded her agreement.

"I need to sit down." Adam decided. He walked over to the counter and grabbed one of the chair. Well, he tried to grab one. He ended up throwing it halfway across the room and into the couch. Adam looked at it, then the cupboards. "I'm hungry. Oh! I'm going to eat some more of that yummy cereal!"

"No!" Bree and I both shouted. I ran ahead of him, jumped onto the counter where the cupboard was and blocked it with my hands and feet. "No more cereal!"

"Why not?" Adam questioned. I looked at Bree for help.

"Because…we're out of milk?" she suggested. Adam frowned.

"No we're not." He opened the fridge and pulled out the milk carton. "It's right here." He tightened his hand, causing the carton to break and milk to pour out of it. He dropped the container as soon as it was empty. "Okay, we're out."

He shrugged and walked into the other room. I looked at Bree. "What are we going to do?"

Before she could answer, Calla and Chase walked in. While Calla had changed out of her gym uniform and into some normal clothes, Chase's outfit was just plain weird. He was dressed in a marching band outfit, even the hat.

"Hey, it's little drummer boy." Bree teased upon seeing him. He sent her a glare.

"It's all that was left in the lost and found." He explained.

"And the hat?" I questioned.

"It's part of the ensemble. You can't break up the set." He replied. "But I am going to go change. This thing is hot."

He left the room, leaving me with Calla and Bree. "So, how was your day, Bree?" Calla asked, purposely ignoring me.

"It started out really weird, but that was Chase's fault. Remind me to explain to Jaden what happened." Bree replied. "Oh, and you won't guess what Leo did."

"Do I even want to know?" Calla asked. Bree nodded.

"He gave Adam an entire bowl of power pellets!" She exclaimed. Calla turned and stared at me.

"You what?" She demanded. I quickly explained my situation.

"Please Calla, you have to help me. I need to go against Adam tomorrow and he's like a big, strong, goofy Godzilla! And I'm Tokyo!"

"Just quit." She suggested.

"I can't just quit. The whole school is expecting me to take on Adam tomorrow." I explained, sitting down on the edge of the couch. "And if I quit, I'll just be humiliated. More humiliated." I added, noting Bree's expression.

"The pellets will wear off eventually." Bree assured me. "But until then, keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't destroy the whole house."

"Guys?" We turned to see Adam walk into the room, carrying a toilet in his arms. "Can somebody help me put this back on?" he asked.

** Chase's POV **

I did my best to ignore the stares I was getting as I walked into the gym. Well, waddled was more like it. It was extremely hard to walk while wearing so many layers of clothes.

I saw Bree almost immediately. She was wearing some sort of tinfoil neck brace. "All those clothes and you couldn't find something to cover your face?" She questioned.

"Go ahead, try to humiliate me." I challenged. "I have thirty-six items of clothing on."

"Why would I try? You're already humiliating yourself." She replied.

"Oh yeah? Well, the tin man called. He wants his neck back." I smirked. Bree glared at me.

"It's to prevent your stupid app from connecting to my chip!" She snapped. "It's the heavy duty kind they use in restaurants."

Some kids walked by, staring and laughing at us. Bree sent them a glare, then looked at me. "Look what you've done. Now everyone thinks we're weirdoes."

"Hey, it's your fault for lying and ditching me!" I objected.

"I just didn't want to hurt your feelings." She told me. "Jaden really, really makes me happy. Just because I want to spend a lot of time with him doesn't mean I like you any less."

I frowned, trying to think of a good come back to that. "Yeah, well I have plenty of friends now too."

"Good, you should go hang out with them more often!" Bree encouraged. I sighed.

"Yeah…I've got Calla and you guys." I admitted. "But I'm going to go hang out with her now."

"Good, but before you do that, you might want to lose a layer or two." She suggested. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, and you might want to lose the baked potato neck." I replied. She walked away to go take off the neck brace while I walked over to Calla. She looked at my outfit, then sighed.

"This is getting ridiculous." She muttered. I chuckled, pulled off the black jacket I was wearing and put it around her shoulders. She smiled and tightened it around her. "That would be way more romantic if you weren't wearing fifty layers of clothing."

"It's only thirty-five." I objected. She laughed.

"Like I said, ridiculous." She murmured.

** Leo's POV **

"So, as it turns out, Adam is too sick to compete." I told Principal Perry, trying to convince her not to continue with the fight. Adam wasn't really sick though. I'd chained him inside his capsule so he couldn't escape.

"Such a shame." I continued. "I guess that means I'm the winner! Winner, party of Leo, your trophy is ready."

"Sick?" Perry repeated. "He can't be sick! He's supposed to be here to annihilate you so I can run you up the flag pole and salute failure!"

"Adam is so sick he can barely move." I lied. Perry sighed.

"Alright." She agreed. "Amaya!" she called.

A pretty girl with dark hair ran forward, carrying a trophy. She handed it to Perry with a smile.

"It pains me, deep to my core, to say this" she declared for all to hear, "but the winner, by default, is L-"

"Adam!" Calla called, pointing at the doors as Adam ran in.

"Sorry, I'm late Principal Perry. Somebody," he glared furiously at me, "locked me in my cap-bedroom. But I just had a bowl of my favourite cereal, so now I'm ready to compete, crush and destroy."

"That's the dingo spirit! Bring on the pain!" Perry cheered, handing the trophy back to Amaya.

"Whoo!" Adam cheered. I felt like I was going to be sick. I was SO dead.

"Adam wait!" I called before he could murder me. "We're brothers!"

"Oh, good point." He agreed. I let out a relieved sigh. "Well, I guess I'll crush and destroy you as gently as possible while still crushing and destroying you."

Well there goes my plan. Perry hit the button on her air horn, the new on that worked, and the fight began. I started running, but because the circle was spinning, all Adam had to do was stand still to reach me. I tried to run, but there was no where to go.

"Would you hurry up?" I heard Principal Perry shout. "I'm paying these paramedics by the hour! Break something already!"

The started messing around with the steam jets, sending blasts of hot air wherever I ran. Suddenly, Adam grabbed me by the neck and lifted me two feet off the ground. I tickled him in the ribs, causing him to drop me. But Perry wasn't done interfering.

"You're not helping!" I shouted as she started throwing random things, including a garbage bag, at me.

"I wasn't trying to!" She called back. Suddenly, I was lifted off my feet again by Adam. He was holding me in the same way he did whenever he and Chase were playing Bionic Brother Toss. Except for, unlike Chase, I wasn't made to withstand serious hits like that.

"Count down to launch! Ten…nine…eight…seven…" Adam started counting.

"Eight! Nine!" I called, trying to confuse him. It worked for about a second.

"Ten! Wait, stop. You're messing me up!" Adam ordered. "Ten…nine…eight…seven…six…five…four…"

I could hear Bree, Calla and Chase in the corner, arguing. I sincerely hoped they are trying to figure out a way to save me.

"Three…two…o…" Adam stopped mid-count and turned me around in his arms, cradling me like one would a baby. I frowned, but didn't object when he set me down on the ground gently.

"Why aren't I destroying you?" he demanded.

"I…don't know." I replied, confused. But it wasn't like I was going to let this opportunity pass. "But what I do know is…" I pushed him off the platform. "I WIN!"

"Are you kidding me?" Perry demanded, walking onto the platform. "Life was so much more gratifying when I was a prison guard. Here." She pushed the trophy into my hands and walked off.

"Nice job." I turned to see Calla walking towards me. I smiled guiltily.

"You're still mad, aren't you?" I guessed. She shook her head.

"Nah, watching Adam nearly killed you kinda made up for it. Plus, you kinda deserved it for trying to cheat and all."

"Yeah, yeah. I got it." I replied. I then noticed what she held in her hands. "Hey, what's that?"

She smirked and handed it to me. It was a cape. Specifically, the capes I insisted on wearing last year. "You made me wear it, now you have to."

"Leo!" Adam called my name. He did not look happy. I said good bye to Calla and walked over to him. "Bree told me about the power pellets! I told you, I didn't want to use bionics! You took advantage of me, Leo."

I sighed. "I'm sorry, I just really wanted to win. I didn't mean for it to hurt our friendship."

Adam was still upset. "Yeah well, it did and nothing's going to fix it."

I looked down at the cape Calla had handed me. "You can have my victory cape." I offered.

He looked at it, then opened his arms. "Buddy!" He grinned, hugging me before tying the cape around his neck and pretending to be a super hero.

** Chase's POV **

"Wait, so you can control what I do from across the room?" Adam asked, grinning. I'd just been telling him the details of the override app. This was actually one of the first times I'd ever used it. The last time…well, they were sorta brainwashed and didn't exactly remember it, so that didn't really count.

"Pretty cool, huh?" I grinned. He narrowed his eyes.

"So, you're the one who's been making me do stupid stuff for all these years!" He accused.

"No, that's all you." I replied. He rolled his eyes.

"Well, don't do it again. I have a hard enough time controlling myself." He said. I smirked.

"Okay, but that means I can't ever do this." I activated the override app and started dancing, Adam automatically copying the moves.

"Oh, make me do the chicken dance!" He exclaimed. I grinned and did as he said. I stopped after a few seconds, but he didn't.

"Adam, I disconnected." I informed him, confused as to why he was still dancing.

"I know, but it's so much fun!" He replied, continuing his dance. I rolled my eyes and left the room.


	12. My Little Brother

** Chase's POV **

I double checked my bag, making sure I had all my homework. The teachers had been going crazy with the work load lately, so there'd been a lot to do.

"Aww, smells like something died in here!" Adam complained suddenly. I looked up to see him smelling his shoe. "Whoa! Something did die in here! Chase, look at this!"

I pushed the shoe out of my face. "No." I told him, going back to my books. Adam sighed.

"Well, at least tell me if this is fur or mould." He pushed the shoe back in my face. I gagged when the smell hit my nose.

"No!" I snapped, pushing it away again. Man, that was nasty. Adam shrugged and went to put his shoe back on his foot. There was a ripping sound as he poked his toes out the other end. "Adam, what did you do to your shoe?"

"I don't know my own strength." He replied. "The same thing happened yesterday with my underwear."

I looked at him. "Oh, that reminds me." He grinned. "I got you a new headband for gym class."

He put the ripped underwear on my head and I threw it off in disgust. "Mr. Davenport warned us about this." I sighed. "As we get older, our chips have to be recalibrated to adjust for our growth."

Adam laughed. "Then your will never have to be adjusted." He chuckled. "Because you're body doesn't grow, get it?"

I ignored him and started putting my things back into my school bag. "I'm saying your small." Adam continued.

"I get it!" I snapped. "When Mr. Davenport gets back from that meeting in Fresno, he can recalibrate your super strength." I said, walking over where I'd tossed my shoes. I quickly put them on, then looked at Adam. "Hey, pass me my backpack."

Adam picked up my backpack and tossed it towards me. I had to duck out of the way to avoid being hit by it and I watched as it went right through the door, leaving a massive hole.

I looked back at Adam. "Or we could do it now." I decided. "Get in your capsule." I ordered.

"But I like being ridiculously strong!" He objected. "I'm like King Kong without the little lady in his hand!" He looked at me and grinned, then held out his hand. "Go ahead Chase, jump in."

I just looked at him and shook my head. "Go!" I ordered, pointing at his capsule.

"Fine." He sighed, doing as he was told. I walked over to consol as he got in.

"Okay, let's see." I thought aloud, putting in the correct settings. "Adam's size parameter, 6'1", 175 lbs-"

"Make it a 180." Adam interrupted, rubbing his stomach. "I had a big breakfast."

I rolled my eyes, but changed it like he requested. "Since your strength is intensified," I told him, "I'm going to dial it back from an eight to a six."

"Hold on. You can adjust my strength?" Adam questioned. I nodded. "Well, don't dial me down! Make me a ten!"

"No way!" I argued. "That would be like giving a stick of dynamite to a…well, you!"

He laughed at the thought. I finished with the settings and then hit the readjustment button. A white light pulsed in Adam's capsule as his strength readjusted. Finally, it was finished. "There, you're done. Now hurry! We're going to be late for school!"

I grabbed my bag and ran out the door, disliking the idea of being late for my chemistry class. "I'll be right there! I just have to…not do something for a minute!" Adam called after me. I ignored him and jogged up the familiar path to the school.

Calla met me in front of the school doors. "Hey, you're late." She observed.

"I had to adjust Adam's strength because of his height." I explained. "And Adam really wanted me to bring it up."

"Please tell me you didn't." she pleaded. I shook my head.

"No. I dialled it down two levels." I replied. She nodded.

"Thank god." She sighed. "Hey, where is Adam anyway?"

"He said he had to not do something." I replied. She frowned.

"Not do something?" She repeated. I nodded. "Oh, I hate it when he says that. Whenever he's 'not doing something', he's usually doing something that affects us."

"I know. But maybe this time will be different." I suggested. She sighed.

"I hope you're right." She told me. "Now come on! We're going to be late for class!"

** Xxx **

"Lunch time! Finally!" I followed Adam into lunch room. Bree and Jaden were out in the hall, chatting about the Athletics Award Ceremony thing that was happening next week and Mr. Lalonde had asked Calla and Leo to stay after class for something, so it was just the two of us.

I quickly grabbed a tray of food and walked towards the nearest table. I grabbed a chair, then sighed in annoyance. "Man, I always get stuck with the wobbly chair." I complained to my brother.

"Here, let me fix it." He offered, looking at the chair. "Hold my tray."

I took the tray from him and stood back as he reached for the chair. Instead of fixing it, he pulled the back part of the chair off with absolute ease. He frowned at it, then tossed it onto the table. "Adam!" I growled, realizing what was going on.

I could feel everyone's eyes staring at us. "Budget cuts, am I right?" I said loudly. "The evidence is all around us, people."

They seemed to accept the excuse and went back to their meals. I glared at Adam. "You maxed out your super strength, didn't you?" I demanded.

"Of course I did! Look who you're talking to!" he replied, grinning. I sighed irritably.

"This is so dangerous! You can't control your strength, and it can cause a ton of glitches. We have to change you back now." I said.

"Calm down. You're overreacting." Adam replied, setting his tray down on the table. He must have hit it harder than he thought, because the table's legs buckled and it crashed to the ground. Several students jumped out of their seats, the sudden crash taking them by surprise. "Okay, you can dial me down to a nine." Adam told me.

"Hey, are you guys alright?" Calla ran over, having heard the crash. She looked at the table, then at Adam, then at the crowd. "I can't believe that Principal Perry is allowed to use such faulty tables. I mean, there must be a school board policy against it. If you can't even place your food down on it without it breaking, it could be seriously dangerous." She said loudly.

The other students nodded mostly, a large number of them putting their food trays in their laps in case their table broke too. "What the hell, boys?" Calla hissed at us, dragging us out into the hall.

"He maxed out his super strength." I explained. She sighed.

"I should have known." She muttered. "Okay, you need to bring that down again. And make sure you put all the settings in correctly. You tend to forget when you're agitated. Then come find me. I need to talk to you." She ordered, gesturing at the door. I stopped her before she could walk away.

"Hey, is everything alright?" I asked. She nodded, a smile on her face.

"Absolutely. I'll talk to you later." She leaned forward and kissed me before skipping off.

** Jaden's POV **

"So…Bree…" I trailed off nervously. She grinned at me, looking up from her book.

"What's up?" she asked. I grinned back.

"Well, you heard about the Athletics Award Ceremony, right?" I questioned. She nodded.

"Yeah, it's for all the sports teams in the school board, right?" She replied. I nodded.

"Yeah, anyway. I got nominated for MVP for the football league." I told her. She grinned even wider.

"Oh my God Jaden! Congrats!" She exclaimed. I rubbed my head sheepishly.

"Anyway, we bought four tickets, one for each member of my family. But Calla can't make it, and I don't want to waste the last ticket…" I trailed off. Bree frowned.

"Wait, why can't Calla make it?" She asked. I shrugged.

"Some academic thingy. I don't really know. Anyway, we have one more ticket and since you're friends with a couple of us on the team, Isaac, Gaven and I, I thought that maybe you'd like to come?" I asked. She stared at me for a brief moment.

"Uh, sure. I'd love to!" she replied. I grinned.

"Sweet! It'll be so much fun!" I exclaimed. Leo came running towards us.

"Hey guys! Guess what?" he demanded, looking really, really excited.

"What's up?" Bree asked. Leo grinned and held up what looked like a concert ticket.

"I won that inventing contest I entered last month!" He grinned. "Well, technically, I tied for first place, but I still got a prize!"

"Congrats, Leo." Bree and I both said. "So, what did you win?"

"I got a ticket for the Young Scientists of California Fair." He replied. "It's this big science fair that features a lot of scientific discoveries and inventions. Not to mention, some of the newest video game technology is going to be shown off there."

"Really? It sounds awesome!" I grinned, but my smile fell as Principal Perry walked into the room.

"Morning, oxygen-hogs!" She greeted. Leo walked up to us.

"I wonder what she wants." He commented. I shrugged, looking at our principal.

"Time for another surprise locker inspection. Why, you ask. The superintendant says that if I'm going to accuse you little criminals of doing stuff I need evidence."

I sighed. Another inspection? These were starting to become a nuisance. "You! Lindsey!" Perry pointed at one of the girls in the hall. I recognized her as Lindsay, one of the girls in the drama department. She pressed herself against the locker, trying to hide it's contents. "You're up!"

Perry walked up to her and pushed her out of the way. She then started going through Lindsay's things. "Stuffed animal?" Perry chuckled, pulling out a small, stuffed lion. "What is this, your prom date?"

She tossed the toy onto the ground, much to Lindsay's horror. "Make up? You've already lost that battle, sweetheart." Perry tossed a pink bag onto the ground next to the stuffed lion.

"I'm tired of this!" Bree muttered suddenly. I glanced at her.

"Tired of what?" I questioned. She pointed at Perry.

"Of Principal Perry and her power trips!" She exclaimed. "How does she keep getting away with this stuff?"

"Just accept it." Leo suggested. "It's a lot easier once you let go of the hope."

We looked back at Perry, who was now eating some pretzel logs out of Lindsay's locker. She looked around, her gaze resting on Bree. "You're next, glow stick!" She decided, referring to Bree's bright yellow shirt. Bree jumped back, leaning against her locker defensively.

"I don't think so." She snapped. We all stared at her in shock. No one, and I mean no one, defied Perry. Ever. Well, there was that one time a girl named Kelly Tremblay refused to do something Perry told her to do. No one's seen her since.

"Bree, just let her see your locker!" I hissed. She shook her head, blocking Perry from accessing her locker. Perry eventually managed to push Bree away though.

"Principal Perry, this is not fair!" Bree exclaimed. "You walk around here like a dictator and treat the student body like prisoners!"

"Aww, you noticed!" Perry smiled. "It's so good to be appreciated."

"This is no way to run a school." Bree announced. "And I think that I speak for everyone when I say we're not going to take it anymore."

Not surprisingly, no one was brave enough to stand beside her. Perry looked at Leo and I. "And by we, she means her." Leo told her. "You and me, we're rock solid."

"I can't believe I'm doing this." I muttered before walking to Bree's side. "I'm not going to take this kind of treatment anymore."

"Are you two challenging my authority?" Perry demanded, looking at us. Leo ducked behind us.

"She's sweating through her pant suit. Retreat, retreat." He whispered. I wanted nothing more than to do exactly that, but Bree wasn't going to back down and it wouldn't be right to leave a friend along like that.

"Listen, I didn't command a ship in the merchant marines to take guff from you." Perry glared at us.

"You know, I just think the school might be a bit more enjoyable if we were treated like adults and had more freedom."

"Right, and then we could all ride unicorns to school." Sarcasm was dripping from Perry's tone. "And eat food that passes a health inspection."

"Well, that last one might be nice." I commented. "And Bree's right. It doesn't have to be like this."

"Oh, yes it does." Perry objected. "I learned one thing from my mother: to rule with an iron fist. Oh, and that salad takes us space where meat should be."

I didn't exactly argue with that last point. Seriously folks, salad is for rabbits. And I'm no rabbit.

"Your mother sounds like a lovely woman." Leo commented, still trying to get on Perry's good side.

"She isn't!" She snapped back. Leo quickly retreated and Perry faced us again. "You kids think my job is SO easy, don't you?"

"Well, how hard can it be? You do it." Bree replied with a smirk. By now, everyone in the school was staring at us with wide, shocked eyes.

"You think you can do better?" Perry mused. "Okay, alright. Have at it. The school's yours. You two can be principal and vice-principal for a day."

"What?" Bree looked at her in confusion. Didn't blame her for that. Did Perry just say what I think she said?

"Yeah, go ahead and be the nice principal." Perry replied. "These maggots will eat you alive in two hours. You could have used your last breath to scream for help, but you should have used it to say I'm sorry." Perry growled in our faces. I stepped away, my face screwed up.

"The only thing I'm sorry for is smelling how bad your breath is. Seriously, when's the last time you brushed your teeth? The 1980s?" I questioned. Bree smirked, then looked at Perry.

"Alright, you're on. But if Jaden and I are going to be the principals for today, we're going to need the keys to your office."

Perry looked at us, then pulled the keys out of her pockets. 'Alright, but remember," she said, handing the keys to Bree, "no matter how loud the banging gets in the filing cabinet, don't open it."

She walked away, leaving the rest of the school in the hall. "Well, Principal Bree, what do you want to do now?"

She smiled, then faced the rest of the school. "Okay, you guys heard what she said. I'm in charge now. My first job as principal is to make Jaden Parker my vice-principal." I nodded at the crowd. "Let's see…okay, classes start in an hour. Until then, have fun."

She started walking to Perry's office. "Come on Jaden. Let's go find out what's in the filing cabinet."

** Chase's POV **

"I can't believe you broke your capsule door." I muttered, watching Adam fix it. "And I can't believe you maxed out your strength after I specifically told you not to!"

"In my defence, you telling me what to do is like a hedgehog telling a monkey what to do. It's ridiculous." He told me. A grin broke out on his face. "But it would make an awesome buddy cop movie!"

"Can we just please get this over with?" I demanded. "I've got to get back to school. It's karaoke day in Latin class and I'm singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star."

He looked confused, so I gave him an example. "Sintella, Sintella, po la stella." I sang before giving a little bow. Adam just looked at me.

"You do realize that Calla's the only girl who'll ever want you, right?" He asked. I raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, and Jessica has to cut your food, so we're even." I insulted back. He shrugged, not bothering to reply. "Get in your capsule."

"Alright, reducing super strength in three…two…one…" I quickly typed in the power levels that we wanted. The machine glowed again, then Adam stepped out.

"Okay, we should probably test our your strength to make sure it worked. Come here." I led him over to a large, silver bin. "This is made of ultra-strength titanium. Think you can break it?"

"Sure. Stand still while I smash it over your head." He replied. I sent him a stern look.

"No. With, your hand." I told him.

"Not as fun, but okay." He agreed. He punched the bin as hard as he could, but he didn't even dent it. He hit it again with the same results. "Ugh! I'm back to normal. Now I'm only a hundred times stronger than you. I guess I'm going to have to hit you more often to make up for it."

"You really don't have to." I replied, hoping that he was joking. Adam put a hand on my shoulder.

"That's sweet, but I really do." He told me.

"No, you don't." I replied, starting to walk away.

"Yes I do." He replied.

"No." I quickened my pace.

"Come here." He told me, starting to chase after me. I started running.

"Adam, don't touch me." Almost as soon as I said that, he leapt and pinned me to the ground. "Adam!"

** Jaden's POV **

"So, what do you think is in here?" I asked Bree, kneeling in front of the filing cabinet. Every so often, it would move and sounds would be made from it. I couldn't tell if they were whimpers or growls, but it was obvious that some sort of animal was being kept in it.

"I don't know." Bree admitted, handing me the keys. "But I bet you ten bucks that it's a cat."

I chuckled; that would sound like Principal Perry. "Let's find out, shall we?" I suggested, sliding the key into the lock. I unlocked the filing cabinet and opened it a tiny crack. My eyes widened. "Bree, it's not a cat."

"Then what is it?" She asked, trying to see the animal. I opened the filing cabinet drawer all the way and pulled out a small puppy. "Oh my god."

The puppy squirmed in my arms as I held it up to look at it. It was young, maybe a couple of months. It was a Labrador retriever with light, golden fur and large, adorable brown eyes.

"Give it here!" Bree demanded, taking the puppy out of my arms. "Aren't you the cutest thing ever?" She cooed. She looked at me. "Why would Perry keep this adorable puppy in a filing cabinet?"

"Why does she do anything?" I replied, shrugging. "What do you want to do with it?"

Bree's eyes lit up. "I'm taking him home with me." She decided. I didn't try and argue – she just looked so excited about the puppy, it was adorable.

"Hey guys?" Leo knocked on the office door.

"Come in!" Bree called. He did as he was told.

"You guys have to – is that a puppy?" he asked. Bree nodded.

"We have to what?" She asked. Leo grinned.

"Check it out." He led us into the hall. When we walked out, it was amazing. Everyone was having fun. People were playing music, blowing bubbles, chatting on their phones…it was incredible.

"It's only been half an hour, but look how much happier everyone is under Principal Bree."

"Well, that is just how I roll." Bree grinned and high fived Rebeccka as said girl walked by. "I mean, isn't it amazing how much happier and productive students are when they're given a little bit of freedom?"

"Let freedom reign!" I grinned, my fist in the air. Bree smirked and Leo looked down at the puppy still in her arms.

"Seriously though, where'd you get the dog?" he asked, scratching its head. "And can we keep him?"

Before Bree could answer, Perry came storming in. "What is going on here?" she demanded. "Stop talking on the phone! Spit out that gum!" She looked at Bree. "I thought I told you not to open that filing cabinet!"

"Hold him." Bree handed me the puppy, then looked at Perry. "This is my school now and you can't tell anyone what to do. Do you see how smoothly things are running and how happy everyone is?"

"I know; it's disgusting!" Perry growled. "All these smiling faces…I haven't seen this many teeth since I kept dental records at the morgue."

Bree smirked. "Sorry, Principal Perry, but I guess it is easy doing your job."

"Very easy." I agreed. Perry glared at me.

"Watch it, Parker." She snapped. I smirked.

"Correction. That's Vice Principal Parker to you." I told her. "And if I'm not mistaken, you're not allowed to be here unless you're student or faculty, so I'm afraid we're going to have to ask you to leave,  _Terry_."

I'd never seen her look so infuriated. "This isn't over!" She shouted. She started to walk away, but stopped when her phone started meowing.

"What? I'm at work!" She shouted, answering it. Her face immediately became apologetic. "Sorry mom, I didn't mean to raise my voice…yes, I've been a bad girl."

She walked off while we tried to stop ourselves from laughing.

** Chase's POV **

"I can't believe you made me late for class." I said to Adam, jogging over to my locker.

"Hey, when you zapped me, I think took a little bit of weight off." He told me, looking at his baggy sweater. I rolled my eyes and turned to my locker, opening it so I could grab my books.

"Adam, that's impossible. It doesn't work like that. The recalibration readjusts the ratio of your muscle mass to your body frame and…and who am I kidding? You stopped listening five seconds ago, right?"

Silence. "Adam?" I turned around to see that I was the only one in the hall. "Adam?"

"Down here!" A tiny voice called. I looked down at a pile of clothes, Adam's clothes. I knelt down, staring at the two inch tall Adam, who was standing inside one of his shoes. "I told you I was losing weight!"

"Holy crap!" I muttered, getting onto my stomach so he wouldn't have to look so high up to look me in the eyes.

"Chase, what's going on?" Adam demanded.

"I-I-I guess I was in such a rush to recalibrate your chip, I must have forgot to put in the size parameters, which caused a glitch and…"

"I'm two inches tall and naked!" Adam shouted, interrupting me. "Do something!"

"Umm…I'll be right back. Stay here." I ordered. I ran to the lost and found, trying to find something for Adam to wear.

I wasn't exactly looking where I was going though. "Hey!" Calla exclaimed as I ran into her, knocking her to the ground. "Where's the fire?" she questioned.

"Sorry, I didn't see you there." I apologized, offering her my hand. She accepted it and I helped her up.

"So, you fixed Adam?" she asked. I bit my lip nervously.

"Oh yeah. Everything's fine now." I lied. I know I should probably tell her the truth about shrinking him, but she already warned me to make sure I did it correctly and if she found out I didn't, I would never hear the end of it. "Hey, is everything alright with you?" I asked, changing the subject. "What was bothering you earlier?"

"It's really nothing." Calla replied. I looked at her. "Alright fine. Do you remember that inventing contest that I entered a couple of months ago?"

"Yeah, I remember." I replied. "Wait, did you win?"

She nodded. "I tied, actually. With Leo of all people. Anyway, instead of getting two tickets, we each got one. But I still got a ticket!" She grinned.

"Way to go! Those are all sold out." I said. "I'm so proud of you!"

"I know. I'm proud of me to!" She hugged me. "Anyway, I thought I should give you a heads up before I miss school for a week."

"A week?" I repeated. "But I thought the Young Scientists of California Fair was Friday to Sunday only?"

"Yeah, it is. But since it's a long, five hour drive there, I'm obviously not going to leave Friday morning. And my cousins Faith and Trev both have the week off because of a gas leak at their school, so I'm going to go visit them for a while."

"Oh." I replied. "Well, it's going to be boring without you in the lab."

"Yeah, who's going to stop Leo from destroying it?" She teased. I laughed.

"Can't you take him with you?" I pleaded jokingly. She grinned.

"So, why are you in the lost and found?" she asked. "I only came because somebody – Trent – stole my lucky baseball hat."

"Oh, I'm looking for…" I grabbed the nearest box and started going through it. I pulled out a purple ninja action figure. "…this."

"Since when do you play with dolls?" Calla asked, giving me a weird look.

"It's not a doll, it's an action figure." I retorted. She laughed.

"Okay, no need to get so defensive of your doll." She teased. "Anyway, I've got to go to history class. See you later."

"See you." I smiled at her as she ran off. I grabbed the action figure and ran back to where Adam still sat in his shoe.

"Here." I pulled the clothes off the action figure and handed them to Adam.

"It took you long enough." He exclaimed, pulling them on.

"I got talking to Calla." I objected. I sighed. "She's going to Seaford for an entire week!"

"Can't you live without her for a few days?" Adam demanded, pulling on the ninja shirt. I nodded.

"Of course I can, but it's going to suck because she's the only one in the lab who's smart enough to understand what I'm saying." I replied. I looked down at him and noticed that he was dressed.

"Alright, let's get you off the floor." I decided, picking him up by the back of the shirt. I put his clothes in my gym bag and placed him down on one of the books in my locker. Adam looked at his reflection in my cell phone screen.

"A purple ninja outfit Chase? Really?" he questioned. "You know purple's not my colour."

"It was from the lost and found! The only other action figure there was PowerGirl and you do not have the legs to work that skirt."

"Just hurry up and fix this. I can't stand being smaller than you." He complained.

"You know, I've been smaller than you my entire life. Now you know what it's like." I snapped. "Do you remember all the names you called me?"

"Not all of them, but there was Tiny Pants McGoo, Microman, Tinyboy, Antboy, and Little Woman!" He started listing them off. I glared at him, then noticed the thermos next to my math book. I smirked, grabbed it and covered him with the cap.

Muffled shouting came from under the thermos cap and I couldn't help but laugh. After a minute or so, I picked it up again. "Hey, what'd you do that for?" Adam demanded.

"I wanted you to see how it feels like to be picked on by someone larger than you." I replied. "But, since I'm a nice guy, now I'll take you home to fix you."

"Thank you Chase. That's really big of you," Adam told me. I smiled until he added "and I don't get to say that very often."

"You just can't stop yourself, can you?" I demanded, getting annoyed with him. He sighed.

"I'll try." He offered. "Um…You're huge…ly small. Oh, can't do it."

I nodded, smirking. "You know what? Forget home. We're going to have a little fun."

"No, no, no!" Adam tried to run, but really, there was nowhere to go. I grabbed him by the back of the shirt and lifted him out of the locker.

"You know that new tarantula in the science lab?" I asked.

"Oh yeah, Archie! He's great!" Adam grinned. My smirk grew.

"Well, let's see how great he is when he gets a surprise visit from a tiny, purple ninja."

"NO!" Adam screamed as I put him safely in my pocket. I grinned. This was going to be fun.

** Jaden's POV **

"The south and east halls are empty!" I called, running into the lobby. Bree jogged down the stairs.

"Same goes for the entire second floor." She told me. We'd gotten several calls about a half hour ago from every teacher saying that none of their students showed up to class.

"No one down in the north or west halls either." Leo called, running up to us. "Where is everybody?"

"Wait, do you hear that?" I asked suddenly. They stopped talking and listened. Surely enough, the sound of kids laughing and playing music could be heard coming from the cafeteria. We all looked at each other, then ran for the cafeteria.

We opened the door to see that there was a massive party going on. And right at the center of it, wearing some really unusual clothes, was Principal Perry.

Bree ran and turned off the music. "Principal Perry?" she demanded. Perry stood up.

"Who wants to know?" she asked. "The name's Terry. On the street, they call me TP, because I clean up."

"What are you doing?" Bree demanded.

"Never mind that. What are you wearing?" Leo pointed at Perry's clothing. She was wearing black pants, white shoes, a plaid shirt, a jean jacket, and a green and yellow hat with the letters TP on it.

"Well, the more I thought about it, it seemed only fair that if you get to be principal for a day, then I get to be a student for a day." She replied. "Since you're such a big fan of freedom, I thought I'd show you what it really looks like."

She looked at one of the lunch ladies, who was sitting in the corner on a chair with wheels, holding a large stick of break. There was another lunch lady on the other side of the cafeteria, in the same type of position. "Bertha, Ruby, saddle up!"

Both lunch ladies pulled on football helmets (where did they even get those? One of them had better not be mine) and then two other students pushed them towards each other. They were mimicking a joust. Ruby managed to knock the bread stick out of Bertha's hands, but it didn't matter because without anyone to stop them, both lunch ladies crashed into a wall.

Perry looked at us. "If they get hurt while you're principal, you're responsible." She reminded us. "Do you know what they do to principal's in prison?"

"You can't threaten me. Vice Principal Jaden, would you like to handle this one?" Bree asked. I grinned.

"I'd love to." I replied before turning to face Perry. I'd wanted to do this since I first started coming to this school. "You just got detention, Squatmug!"

"Do you really want to go there, knowing that I'm back to running this place tomorrow?" she questioned. That was enough to make me stop.

"Detention? What detention? You don't have detention! Please don't kill me." I pleaded. Bree smacked my arm, glaring at me. "What? She's a terrifying woman!"

"Weak." She muttered, before looking at Perry.

"So, are you ready to give up?" Perry asked.

"Not a chance. I'm not afraid of you, like some people." She gave me a look. "And because freedom is-"

Bree stopped as a large, baseball sized clump of mashed potatoes hit her in the head. Perry laughed as Bree reached up to touch it.

"Sorry, I couldn't hear you with all that freedom on your face!" she laughed. "Somebody get this girl some gravy!"

"Why, you little-" I grabbed Bree around the waist, preventing her from committing murder.

"Come on Bree. Let's go get you cleaned off." I hoisted her up over my shoulder so quickly that she didn't even have time to squeal in surprise.

"Jaden, put me down!" She hissed as I carried her into the hall. I ignored her and brought her into the principal's office. I finally put her down in the principal's seat and she glared furiously at me.

"Sit." I ordered before she could object. I walked out and grabbed a box of tissues out of the nearest classroom. When I returned, Bree was still sitting in her seat, glaring at me.

"I can't you believe you just did that." She muttered as I pulled a seat up beside her. I smirked and started to help her pull mashed potatoes out of her hair.

"What can't you believe? That I carried you out?" I asked. She nodded. "Well, I'm pretty sure that you'd get in some trouble if you killed Principal Perry. Besides, there are other ways to deal with people like her."

Bree looked at me. "Like how?" She questioned. I smirked and whispered my idea in her ear. "Jaden…that's genius!"

I laughed. "I know. I think my sister's rubbing off on me. Now, do you want to make the call, or shall I?"

"I'll do it." Bree grabbed her cell phone and I handed her the piece of paper with the number on it.

"Where'd you get the number, anyway?" She asked. I shrugged.

"I just checked the school computer earlier. It wasn't that hard." I replied. Bree smirked, then put a finger to her lips.

"Shh. It's ringing." She whispered, a devious look in her eyes.

** Chase's POV **

I grinned as I walked to the water fountain. This revenge on Adam was so much fun.

"Alright Adam. Are you ready for a water fountain germ bath?" I asked, reaching into my pocket to get him. To my shock and horror, I found nothing. "Adam?"

I started checking all my pockets, but he was nowhere to be found. "Adam? Oh no, Adam?"

"Why are you calling your pants Adam?" I turned around to see Calla standing there, a Labrador retriever puppy in her arms.

"Why do you have a dog in your arms?" I asked, unable to hide my confusion. Calla smirked.

"I'm puppy sitting for Jaden." She replied.

"Where'd he get it?" I questioned. She shrugged, scratching its head.

"I don't know." She replied. "When I asked him, he told me that he and Bree found it in 'the magical filing cabinet of doom' whatever that means. So, what's up?"

"I've got a problem. I accidently shrunk Adam, and now I can't find him anywhere." I informed her. She didn't even look surprised.

"I got your back. I was with you, you were with me. We were kayaking, no questions asked." She said quickly.

"No, he was in my pocket, but he fell out." I explained. "I lost him!"

"They'll never buy it, stick to the kayaking." She told me.

"I don't know where he is. He could be anywhere." I looked around, hoping that I would catch sight of him.

"Chase!" Calla grabbed my arm suddenly. "I think I just saw a tiny, purple ninja dive into that book bag."

She stopped. "Okay, there's a sentence I will never say again." She said. I rolled my eyes and ran towards the girl who owned the book bag, but she was already leaving, heading for the cafeteria. We ran after her. I grabbed her bag, ripped it off her shoulder, slammed it down on the table, and started to tear through it.

"Sorry m'am, random bag search." Calla explained to the girl who owned it. "There's been a lot of crotons stolen from the salad bar. We're not saying it's you, but we're all thinking it."

I grinned, suddenly seeing the purple shirt. I grabbed Adam and held him between my hands. "Got him." I hissed to Calla. I turned around to make a run for it, and almost ran into…Principal Perry?

"Dude! You almost made me spill my third lunch!" She complained. I decided it was better not to question it.

"Right, sorry." I apologized. Calla and I ran to the other side of the cafeteria. I opened my hands so we could talk to Adam and found…nothing?

"Where'd he go?" I demanded. Calla pointed over my shoulder.

"The burger." She whispered. Sure enough, Adam was lying down on Principal Perry's burger. We couldn't see him for long though, because Perry covered him with the burger bun.

"Adam, get out of there!" I shouted, but it was too late. Perry was already bringing the burger to her mouth. I ran forward and pulled the burger away from her face. She held on tight though.

"Braver men than you have tried to take my food before. They ain't men now." She growled at me. I pulled the burger out of my grasp.

"I won't let you eat my brother!" I snapped. She glared at me.

"You vegetarians make me sick!" She exclaimed. 'It's a turkey, not your brother! Now give me back that bird, hippie!"

She grabbed the burned, but I refused to let go. "No!" I shouted, trying to get the burger away from her.

Suddenly, Bree walked forward. "Drop the burger, Terry!" She ordered. I was so stunned that I let go of the burger. Perry still held onto it.

"Why don't I drop you, girly?" she asked. Bree just smirked.

"I had a feeling you might say that." She replied. "Which is why I brought in the big guns."

The cafeteria doors swung opened, a large, elderly woman standing in the doorframe. Jaden was standing behind her, a confident smirk on his face. "THERESA!" The woman shouted. Perry froze, a look of terror on her face.

"M-Mother?" she gulped. I looked at Calla.

"Do you know what's going on here?" I asked. She shook her head.

"Not a clue." She replied. I looked back at Perry and her mother.

"Mother, what are you doing here?" Perry questioned, sounding nervous. Her mom smiled.

"This lovely young lady and this handsome young man called me and said you were causing trouble." Her mother (let's call her Mrs. Perry) replied. "What did I tell you about wrestling for food?"

"That if you're going to do it, you'd better win?" Principal Perry guessed.

"Don't you sass your mother!" Mrs. Perry snapped, taking the burger from her. She placed it on the table and I reached for it, only for my hand to slapped away. "Hands off, troll!"

I was about to object, but decided against it. Mrs. Perry may be elderly, but there was every chance that she was as frightening as Principal Perry.

"I apologize for all the trouble my daughter's caused you." Mrs. Perry said to Bree and Jaden.

"They're not really in charge!" Principal Perry informed her mother.

"And you're not really a child, so stop acting like one!" Mrs. Perry shouted. I had to cover my laugh with my hand. "Theresa, what do you say to Principal Bree and Vice Principal Jaden?"

Principal Perry pouted for a few minutes, , but finally managed to get out a small "sorry."

"Big girl voice!" Mrs. Perry commanded.

"SORRY!" Principal Perry yelled.

"Please tell me someone's recording this." Calla begged quietly. Mrs. Perry turned to Bree and Jaden.

"I'm going to take her home and give her a good talking to her." She assured them. Bree nodded.

"I think that's a great idea." "It was such a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Perry." They replied. Mrs. Perry smiled at them, then grabbed Principal Perry by the ear and started dragging her out of the room. Before she left though, she grabbed the burger with Adam in it and tossed it into the garbage can.

"NO!" Calla and I shouted. I ran to the garbage can. Calla was beside me in a second, having given the puppy back to Jaden. One of the lunch ladies dumped a tray full of half eaten food into the garbage can. We stared at it, knowing that we'd have to go through it to find Adam.

"Thanks a lot, Ruby." I commented to the lady. She merely shrugged as Calla and I lifted the garbage can. Everyone was starting at us.

"I lost my retainer." Both Calla and I said at the same time. That just got us even more stares, so we decided to leave before it got worse.

** Xxx **

"This is so disgusting." Calla muttered, dumping a handful of gooey noodles into the other trash bag we'd brought down. "Oh, I found him!"

She pulled out a large stick. "No wait, that's celery. Never mind." She dropped it in the other trash can. "Wait…no. That's a chicken bone."

Suddenly, I managed to get my hands on something that was most definitely alive. "I found him!" I exclaimed. I picked him up, out of the trash and ran him over to the capsule. I dropped him in his and readjusted the settings while Calla started cleaning her hands with a clean rag. "Okay. Adam size parameter. Height: 6'1". Weight: 175 lbs. Strength: level 6. Clothes: yes please."

I hit the button and the capsule was encased in a bright white glow. When it died down, Adam was standing there, thankfully wearing normal clothes.

"Guys!" he grinned, stepping out of the capsule. "I just had the most amazing dream! I was a tiny purple ninja in a land of butt giants!"

"No Adam, that wasn't a dream. I accidently shrunk you." I told him.

"And for once, Leo had nothing to do with any of this. It's a once in a life time chance, actually." Calla commented. "Anyway, I'm going to go clean up. You can deal with the rest of the disgusting trash."

She walked to the elevator, muttering something about 'not getting paid enough to go through trash cans'. Adam looked at me.

"Wow, I think I finally understand what it feels like to be the smaller brother." He told me. I grinned; those were words I'd been waiting to hear my entire life.

"FINALLY! So, does this mean you're not going to make short jokes at my expense anymore?" I asked.

"I'm sorry, can you speak up?" Adam requested. "I can't hear you down there."

My good mood evaporated in a flash. "You just can not help yourself, can you?" I demanded.

"I'm just kidding!" Adam stopped me from walking away. "Look, I don't think you're that small. And for turning me back to normal, I got you a gift. Close your eyes."

He'd only been normal size for a few minutes now, so what could he have gotten me? But I decided to humour him and closed my eyes. A second later, he told me to open my eyes.

Dangling in front of me was the purple ninja outfit I'd give him. "It's a tiny ninja costume!" He exclaimed. I stared at him. "Oh, don't worry about the size." He told me, placing it on my shoulder. "You'll grow into it."

I glared at him as he walked away, laughing. I guess some things will never change.

** Jaden's POV **

"I am so happy to just be a student again." Bree grinned when she saw me. I nodded, sitting down on the bench in the lobby.

"So, how'd your parents react when they saw the puppy?" I asked. Bree smiled.

"Well, Mr. Davenport doesn't get home from his trip until tomorrow, but Tasha thought it was adorable. She said that as long as we all help to take care of it, it's ours. We're going to take it to the veterinarian's tonight to make sure it's got all of its shots."

"Have you named it yet?" I asked. She shook her head.

"Not yet. We're still trying to think of a name. Any suggestions?" She asked. Before I could answer, Perry walked into the lobby.

"Well, if it isn't the former administration." She greeted. Bree smirked.

"Well, if it isn't the failed administration." She responded.

"That was my dis! You only changed one word!" Perry objected. We rolled our eyes. "Now that I'm back in charge, I'm going to make your lives miserable."

"And how do you intend to do that?" I asked.

"I'm glad you asked. You two are going to spend the rest of the day cleaning the cafeteria." The janitor handed us each a mop before walking away.

"Jaden?" Bree looked at me. I nodded and pulled out my phone as she turned back to Perry. "I don't think so. We may not be in charge anymore, but we still have one thing. Your mother's phone number."

Perry's expression turned from arrogant to terrified as her mother picked up. I held my phone out for her to see.

"THERESA!" Mrs. Perry shouted. Principal Perry started running, Bree and I hot on her heels, laughing as her mother scolded her.


	13. Quarantined

** Chase's POV **

"So, how is it at your cousins?" I asked into my phone, walking down to the lab.

" _Awesome!"_  Calla exclaimed on the other end.  _"We all went to the beach for some surfing action. Aw, I wish you could be here!"_

"So do I." I agreed. Calla and Leo had both gotten invites to the Young Scientists of California Convention this weekend. While Leo was still here (the thing didn't start until Friday and it was still Wednesday night) Calla had convinced her parents to let her go early so she could hang out with her cousins for the week. It was kind of dull down here without Calla, but she sounded like she was having fun.

" _So, has anything exciting happened while I was away?"_  Calla continued.

"Nah. Bree's been flirting with your brother, I got some homework done, Adam's playing with the puppy, and Leo's been using your computer to play Minecraft." I replied.

"I have not!" Leo glared at me from his spot by the table. Everyone was already in the lab. Bree was chatting on the phone with Jaden, Leo was doing stuff on the computer, Adam was playing happily with our new dog, and Mr. Davenport was dragging a large bin to the center of the room.

"Bree, Chase, phones away. We have mission stuff." Mr. Davenport ordered. I nodded.

"Sorry babe, I gotta go." I told Calla. I heard her sigh.

" _Good luck on the mission."_  She said, obviously having heard what Mr. Davenport said.  _"Don't get killed and bring me back a souvenir!"_

Chuckling, I hung up and shoved my phone back in my pocket. "So, what's the mission this time?"

"Well, I'm going to prep you on it first. Leo-" Leo cut him off.

"Mission Specialist Dooley," He corrected him, "will be adding a little more visual pizzazz to the usual snooze-fest." He pressed a button on the IPad and a fireworks show appeared on the screen. We looked at him, not impressed. "Hey, if you want a show, kick in the dough."

"Tonight, I'm sending you to gather intelligence." Mr. Davenport told us, trying to be serious. I couldn't help but smirk at Adam.

"Oh, you hear that Adam? You'd better bring a big basket." He just started blankly at me.

Leo hit a button his remote, and the screen on the computer showed a picture of a massive warehouse. "I was satellite scouting industrial sites when I found this warehouse that I think is a front for environmental criminals." Mr. Davenport explained. The screen changed again to show several barrels with green labels on them. "These barrels are full of toxic chemicals. They're expensive to dispose of properly, so they're probably just going to dump them into the sea."

"Which could harm ocean life and obliterate the coastline." Leo added. Suddenly, Bree laughed beside us. We looked at her to see that she was still talking on her phone.

"Jaden, you are so funny!" She giggled. I cleared my throat and she looked at me. "Chase, I'm on the phone."

"I'm sorry, what's going on?" Mr. Davenport questioned.

"She's talking to Jaden again." Adam complained.

"She's got this massive crush on the guy." I explained. Mr. Davenport rolled his eyes.

"Bree! Off the phone! Now!" He ordered. She sighed.

"Fine." She muttered, hanging up on Jaden. "Just tell us what you invented, what went wrong, and how long until it blows up."

We all looked at her. Just because 86% of our missions involved one of Davenport Industries' inventions blowing up didn't mean they all did.

"Look," Mr. Davenport got back to the mission. "the police can not bust these guys without evidence so I need you to bust in there and gather samples. Leo, show them the barrel."

Leo pulled a sheet off of a massive barrel that I hadn't noticed before. It looked identical to the ones in the picture. "Now, there is only one safe way to get the samples. And Leo," said boy cleared his throat, "Sorry, Mission Specialist Dooley will demonstrate. First, take the canister and attach it to the spout."

While he spoke, Leo showed us how to do it. "Push down and turn forty-five degrees to create an air tight seal. Then, pull the handle."

Bree started giggling again. She was texting on her phone and it didn't take a genius to figure out who she was messaging. "LOL Jaden."

"Bree!" Mr. Davenport shouted. She looked at him, annoyed.

"Why do I have to pay attention all the time?" She demanded. She pointed at each of us. "Strong, smart, fast. Let's just do this already."

She spun around, phone in her hands, and sped towards the door. Well, into the door. She bounced off the closed door and hit the ground with a thud.

"Bree, how many times have I told you no texting while super-speeding!" Mr. Davenport scolded. Bree twisted around to glare at him, then got to her feet.

"So, when are we leaving for this stupid mission?" She muttered.

"After school. I want everyone to be suited up and at that warehouse by four, do I make myself clear?"

We all nodded to make sure he knew we understood. Bree left the room quickly, probably going to go finish her conversation with Jaden and Mr. Davenport walked away, saying something about grocery shopping.

"Last one upstairs has to take Glitch for a walk!" Adam called suddenly, jumping out of his seat and racing for the door. Leo was right on his heels, but I didn't bother running after them. I was going to lose anyway. I looked down at the golden retriever sitting at my feet.

"I still can't believe we named you that." I muttered, scratching his head. As soon as the veterinarian confirmed that he was a male puppy, we'd started coming up with names. After a couple of hours, we finally decided on the name Glitch. It was Jaden's suggestion, and I guess it made sense since he and Bree found the dog, they got to name it.

Glitch just barked cheerfully, then ran for the door. I sighed and grabbed his leash off the table, then followed him outside.

** Xxx **

The drive to the warehouse was long. Really long. If Bree had been there to super-speed us, it would have only taken a few minutes. Instead, we had to sit in a car for four hours.

By the time we got inside, it was still just Adam and I. I walked in first, extremely cautious of guards or security perimeters.

After a few minutes, I managed to sneak into the main part of the warehouse. Adam walked in behind me, snacking on something. "You know, for a shady warehouse this place has a fantastic vending machine." He grinned.

I rolled my eyes. "Where is Bree?" I demanded. "If Mr. Davenport finds out that she's late for a mission, she's going to be in a big trouble."

While I spoke, I started getting out the gloves that we would need. Suddenly, Adam's phone beeped. He read the text.

"Oh, she just texted me. She's with Jaden. I love this game!" He started texting her back. "I'm with Chase."

He held out the phone so I could see and I hit it out of his hands in my frustration. "It's going to take forever to get these samples without Bree's help." I complained, handing him a canister from the bags. "Put your gloves on."

Adam held out his hands to show me that the gloves were already on. Suddenly, Bree sped into the room. "Hey guys, guess what?"

I looked at her, disapprovingly. She was supposed to be wearing her mission uniform, like the rest of us. Instead, she was wearing a white T-shirt covered in colourful tire marks.

"You had a collision with a poodle on a tricycle that works at a paint store!" Adam guessed excitedly. Bree looked down at her shirt, then at him.

"No." She replied. "Jaden got this for me when he went to the end of the school year carnival. He was trying to get one of those big, stuffed bunnies, but he ran out of money for tries, so he got this and gave it to me. Don't you like it?"

We didn't answer, but she got the message. "Whatever, I love it!"

"Hey, hey! This is serious." I reminded her. "You're late and you're not even in your mission suit!"

"Yeah, how are we supposed to know you're even on our team?" Adam questioned. Bree rolled her eyes.

"Can we just hurry this up?" she demanded. "Give me your gloves, stand guard and stay out of my way."

I sighed and handed her the gloves, if only to make her shut up. Adam and I both walked into the hall, just outside the door. My super-sensitive hearing picked up on Bree's annoyed voice.

"'Hey Bree, what did you do this weekend?'" She mimicked Jaden. "Oh nothing, just collected smelly chemicals with my stupid brothers. It was super fun."

I decided to ignore the stupid comment and the sarcasm. After a few minutes, I heard her call "Done!"

Adam and I walked back into the room. Bree threw the gloves at me. "Alright, I'm going back to Jaden. He said he wanted to teach me how to throw a football. Later losers."

She sped off, but not down the hall we'd come in. She sped down the one filled with motion detectors and alarms. "Bree, don't run that way or-" my warning shout was cut off by the loud alarms. "-set off the security alarm." I finished. "We have to get out of here."

I ran for the door, but Adam stopped to collect the canisters. Any other time, I would have been glad to see his dedication to the mission, but now was not the time to stop. "Forget it, let's go!" I ordered. Adam nodded, dropped the canisters and ran after me.

We quickly jumped into our vehicle, just as a few guards ran out. We drove away quickly, before they could catch sight of our faces. How could Bree be so stupid as to get us caught?

** Bree's POV **

"WAKE UP!" I groaned at the sound of Mr. Davenport's voice. "I want a complete debriefing of what went wrong last night without any giggling when I use the word debrief."

I opened my eyes groggily and stretched. Why did he have to wake us up so early? What time was it anyway? I stayed in my capsule for a few minutes, still trying to wake up. Adam and Chase were out of the capsules immediately however, and were already listening to Mr. Davenport's rant.

"Guys, you failed the mission!" He exclaimed. "What happened?"

I sighed, figuring that I should probably get up now and opened my capsule door. The second I did, a massive alarm blasted around me. "Get back in your capsule! Get back in!" Mr. Davenport shouted. I did as he asked, completely bewildered as to what was going on.

"The system is detecting a high level of contamination in Bree's capsule." He announced. I frowned, confused.

"What? That's ridiculous! How could my capsule be…oh…" Yesterday, when collecting the samples, I'd taken my gloves off to text Jaden back. I wasn't sure if I had closed the seal on the canister properly either. Either one of those things could have gotten me contaminated.

"Oh what?" Chase demanded. "What is 'Oh…'?"

"Duh, O is the second letter in the number 10." Adam replied, smirking.

"Bree, is it possible you were exposed to something toxic on the mission?" Mr. Davenport asked. I shrugged.

"It certainly was." Leo told him, looking at the IPad. "According to this, Bree's mission suit never left her capsule last night."

He pressed a button on the IPad and his voice came out of it. "Bu-bu-bu-busted!" It sang.

I crossed my arms, glaring at Leo for ratting me out. Mr. Davenport looked at me, ignoring my glare. "Why weren't you wearing your missions suit?" he questioned.

"I'll tell you why." Chase offered before I could get a word out. "Because she was out with Jaden. She showed up late, contaminated herself, and then set off the alarm."

"And you wonder why no one at school likes you." I commented.

Mr. Davenport sighed and looked at me. "Until I find out exactly what you were exposed to, the capsule should counteract the effects of your contamination, but you are quarantined until further notice." He told me. I stared at him.

"Quarantined?" I repeated. "But Jaden's award ceremony is tonight!"

"You are not leaving that capsule until Adam and Chase get back in that warehouse and find out exactly what you were exposed to!" His tone made it very clear; this issue would not be discussed further.

I groaned in annoyance and leaned against my capsule door. Chase turned to Adam. "After that alarm went off, getting past security's going to be even harder. How are we going to get in?"

Mr. Davenport walked over to the center of the room, a small device in his hands. He pressed a button and the air around him seemed to flicker before he disappeared. I stared at the spot he'd just been in, but apparently I was the only one who saw that happen.

"The same way I'm standing right here and you can't see me." Mr. Davenport replied. The boys turned around to try and find the source of the voice, but he was completely indivisible.

"How'd you do that?" Leo asked suspiciously. Adam gasped suddenly.

"He's a witch!" He exclaimed, almost sounding amazed.

"It's my new special, micro-projection technology." Mr. Davenport told us.

"Dude, I know witchcraft, and you're a witch." Adam replied.

"No, I'm not." The air flickered again and Mr. Davenport slowly became visible. He showed the device to them. "This device scans your environment and uses a matrix of light projections to create a virtual environment you can hide behind."

No one but Chase seemed to understand, but judging by my know-it-all brother's expression, Mr. Davenport's invention was pretty cool. Mr. Davenport disappeared again. "Ta-da!" He sang. Part of him appeared, almost as if he was leaning forward. "I invented it as a 3D modelling engine for space telescopes." He explained before going completely invisible again.

"Ah-ha! So he's a space witch!" Adam exclaimed. "Those are the worst kind."

It's worth mentioning that Adam really hates witches. A lot.

** Chase's POV **

Like I guessed, the warehouse was even more heavily secured than before. It was next to impossible to get past their new, high tech security system, but eventually, I managed to disable it.

However, I didn't take into account the guard that was waiting in the middle of the warehouse. I almost walked into the room, right into his line of view. I would have too, if Adam hadn't pulled me back by the back of my collar.

"Thanks." I nodded at him. "You distract the guard to give me enough time to scan and project the room image."

"How?" he questioned.

"I don't know. Throw something in the trash can to make some noise so he'll look the other way." I suggested. Adam looked around and picked up a metal chair, then looked at me for my approval. "No, not a chair. Something small."

"Got it." He agreed. He walked over and picked me up. I glared at him.

"Really?" I questioned. He set me down on my feet.

"I'm just kidding. About throwing you, not about you being small." He added. He held up a granola bar, then stepped towards the doorway. He tossed it towards the back of the warehouse, making the guard jump in surprise.

"What's that? Who's there? I've got pepper spray." The guard warned, holding up the bottle. He looked at it, then pointed it back at the air. "Make that breath spray."

He started walking towards where Adam's granola bar landed and we took advantage of the distraction. We quietly stepped forward and scanned the room with the device. It hid us almost instantly.

"This is so cool. He can't even see us." Adam whispered, shaking his butt at the guard. I hit him to make him stop, then looked back at the guard. He started walking around the room. We turned the device when we had to, always staying out of sight.

Seeming to believe that no one was there, the guard removed the breath spray's cap and sprayed a little in his mouth. He gagged the second the spray hit his tongue. "It is pepper spray!" he cried, running out of the room.

"Wow, that actually worked." Adam grinned, as if the pepper spray thing was part of our plan. I just decided to go with it.

"Alright, let's do this." I set the device up on a tripod so we wouldn't have to carry it the entire time, then pulled on the comm device. It was a new one – Leo's design – so it hadn't been tested yet.

"Foxtrot, alpha, pickle." I tested, using the first words that came to mind. "Are you receiving audio, Mr. Davenport?"

" _Copy that, Pickle."_  I heard him say.  _"Okay, Bree said that the dangerous chemical she was exposed to came from a barrel with a green label on it."_

"Copy that." I responded. I looked at Adam. "We're looking for a green label."

I looked around at the barrels. There wasn't a single one without a green label on it. "Yeah, Bree's not going to make it." Adam decided.

I sighed. There had to be something else we could do to identify the correct label. Suddenly, an idea came to me. "Wait a second. Bree said she wasn't wearing her gloves when she got contaminated. I've got her fingerprint stored on my database. I'll use my fingerprint recognition app to find a match."

"Good idea." Adam smiled as I activated my fingerprint recognition app. I located Bree's fingerprints on a nearby barrel within seconds.

"Yes! I found it." I ran to barrel, then read what it said on the label to Mr. Davenport. "It's called Neurothroxin. Is that bad?"

" _Ahhh!"_  Mr. Davenport shouted on the other line. I felt a pit growing in my stomach.

"So bad then?" I guessed, hoping he would tell me otherwise.

" _It's terrible!"_  He confirmed.  _"Exposure to Neurothroxin interrupts the connection between the brain and the muscles. There is no telling what it will do to her bionics."_

"So what do we do?" I demanded. Mr. Davenport was silent for a minute.

" _Well, I can synthesize an antidote, but you have to get me a sample."_  He said eventually.  _"And the effects become permanent after twenty-four hours, so HURRY UP!"_

I wasted no time, already sealing a canister onto the barrel. But at the same moment, a weird glitching sound came from behind us. I turned to see the cloaking device shut off. "Dude, I think the battery just died." I told Adam. He went to check it out as I finished getting the sample.

I pushed him away, trying to reactivate it. "Give me that." He requested before smacking it several times. It didn't turn on, so he looked in the front of it to see if the light bulb was a problem. Apparently, that was a bad idea. The device turned on for a second, shining a bright, white light directly into his eyes. He stumbled back. "Ah! I'm blinded!"

Just then, the guard from before came running in. "Freeze!" He shouted, holding up his pepper spray. I backed up, getting into a fighting stance as he ran for help.

"Break-in at warehouse five!" he shouted.

" _Oh boy."_  I heard Mr. Davenport mutter in my ear. The guard turned back to us.

"Adam, hit him with your super-strength!" I ordered.

"I can't see!" Adam reminded me.

"I'll tell you when to swing." I replied. The guard stepped forward. "Now!"

Instead of punching the guard like I thought he would, he hit me in the shoulder. The strength of the blow made me stumbled back. I hit some sort of barrel and caused it to open. I hit the ground with a pained groan as a freezing cold, icy mist started to pour out of the barrel.

"Adam, be careful! The floor is covered in ice!" I called, trying to push myself up. I slipped on the ice though and wasn't able to even get to my knees.

"What do I do?" Adam demanded.

"Run!" I ordered. He did as I asked, but ran in the wrong direction. He slipped on the ice quite ungracefully and landed beside me. "The other way!"

It didn't matter now though. There were several other guards running into the room by this point and there was no way we could escape. I activated my comm link. "Mr. Davenport, we could use some help."

" _On my way."_  He assured me as two guards dragged me to my feet.

** Bree's POV **

"What's going on over there?" I demanded, leaning against the glass of my capsule. Obviously, something had gone wrong. Mr. Davenport was sort of freaking out a bit, which usually meant something was wrong. But I couldn't figure out what because I could only hear his end of the conversation and I couldn't see his computer screen with the live security feed.

"Adam and Chase got caught by some guards." Mr. Davenport told me, putting on his mission jacket.

"Are they alright?" I asked. He nodded.

"They weren't hurt. But I need to go bail them out." He told me. I nodded, an idea coming to my mind. He looked at me. "Leo's going to keep an eye on you. Do not leave you capsule. Am I understood?"

"Yes sir." I nodded. "Just go save their butts already!"

Mr. Davenport nodded and left the room. I didn't waste any time and sped out of the lab. I skidded to a stop in front of the Mission Creek Banquet hall, a smirk on my face. There was no way I was going to let Mr. Davenport's stupid rules stop me from coming to this event with Jaden.

** xxx **

"I can't wait until they start with the awards!" Jaden grinned. He looked really excited about this. We were sitting at his family's table in the awards hall, waiting for the banquet to finally begin. It was actually a pretty big place. It even had two floors. We were on the top floor because there was some art thing on the first floor.

"Were you nominated for any?" I asked. He nodded.

"Yeah, MVP. But it's going to be between me and Kevin and Kevin needs to go down!" He muttered. I smiled.

"Well, I'm sure you're going to win." I assured him. "I mean, there's no way Kevin's a more valuable player than you."

"Thanks." Jaden grinned. He suddenly frowned. "Leo, what are you doing here?"

I turned around to see Leo walking towards us. Oh no, I thought. Why did he have to ruin this for me?

"Bree!" Leo called, running up to me. He looked at Jaden. "Hey, sorry to crash the party, but I need to talk to Bree."

Leo grabbed me by the arm and started pulling me towards the stairs. I dug my feet into the ground and stopped him by the staircase.

"Bree!" He exclaimed. "I can't believe you snuck out to see Jaden!"

"What's it to you?" I demanded. "It's my business who I sneak out to see!"

"Whatever." Leo shook his head, obviously not wanting to get into this argument. "You've had your fun, now Big D needs you to stay in your capsule. Let's go."

He grabbed my arm again and tried to lead me down the stairs. But I refused to move. "Leo, he is overreacting! I am perfectly fine! See?" I raised my hand to show him that it was fine. "I haven't had one single side effect."

Suddenly, I lost all feeling in that arm. It fell limply to my side. Leo looked at my limp arm, then at me. I smiled and tried to hide it by putting my hand in my pocket. "That…that's nothing." I lied. "See? I am trying to act casual so Jaden doesn't sense how desperate I am."

"It's not working." Leo replied. I was about to snap back a retort when one of my legs gave way. I grabbed the banister, holding myself up, but not before Leo noticed the change.

"I'm good." I assured him. He didn't believe me. And if those side effects continued to grow, I wouldn't be able to trick anyone soon.

** Chase's POV **

Today was SO not our best of days. The guards had handcuffed Adam and I to a pole and taken my comm link. Leo would not be happy with us losing that, but it wasn't our primary concern at the moment.

"Can you see yet?" I asked Adam hopefully.

"No, but you still sound short." He replied. I glared at him, silently asking if now was really the time for short jokes.

Meanwhile, the guard walked back to us. "So, who told you we were dumping chemicals into the ocean tonight?" He questioned. I smirked arrogantly.

"It was only a hunch until you just confirmed it." I answered.

"Oh, did I?" The guard sounded amused. But so was I.

"Yeah, you did." I replied.

"Oh, did I?" he questioned again.

"Yes, you did." I said again. He looked at me, then sighed.

"I guess I did." He admitted. Adam laughed.

"That guard's an idiot." He chuckled, facing the guard.

"I'm over here." I said from his other side.

"Oh." Adam was a little surprised. Suddenly, a very short man, a rather ugly one at that, walked in and strode towards the guard.

"You there. Release them." He ordered. "They're coming with me."

"Who are you?" The guard asked, confused.

"The boss sent me in. They call me the In-TERROR-gator." The man replied, smirking menacingly. "When I ask questions, I get answers."

He walked over to us and started fiddling with the handcuffs. "Alright you two," he said loudly "You're coming with me."

I tried to pull away. "Not without a fight!" I spat.

"Settle down punk!" The man yelled in my face. Then, in a secretive tone, he whispered "It's me, Davenport. Just follow my lead."

I looked at him. No one here knew who we were, so it's not like it could have been a trick. I felt the handcuffs release around my wrists and then a  _zap_ as Adam was released.

"Ow, that hurts!" he exclaimed, blinking hard. He grinned. "Hey, I can see again."

He turned to Mr. Davenport, and the smile fell from his face. "You liar! You're not Davenport!"

He smacked him in the face. As a result, his face flashed blue a couple of times and then was replaced by his real face. Adam looked at me, then him, then finally at the guards. They were all staring at us, a little surprised.

"Hello." Mr. Davenport greeted, nervously. Adam gasped and grabbed onto me.

"See? I told you he's a witch!" He shouted.

"I'm not a witch!" Mr. Davenport exclaimed. "I was wearing a cyber mask!"

The guards looked at us, suddenly furious. "Stop them!" The main guard shouted. They attacked us, one of the bigger guys coming straight for me. I blocked two of his blows, ducked under his kick, then kicked him in the chest as hard as I could. I dodged a couple more of his punches, then flipped him onto his back.

"Chase!" I heard Adam call. I spun around just in time to see my brother knock down a guard behind me. I nodded at him gratefully; I hadn't seen the guard.

We looked down at the guards, making sure they weren't ready to fight again. I guess one of us must have hit one of the barrels, because a rancid smelling gas quickly filled the air.

"Why do I even bother with safety briefs?" Mr. Davenport demanded, grabbing the canister. Adam just laughed.

"Briefs…ah, underwear." He chuckled. I rolled my eyes and pushed him towards the door.

"Let's just get out of here." I told him.

** Bree's POV **

Why does all the bad stuff happen to me? Seriously, why me? Right now, I was slumped in a chair, unable to even move my head. Leo was standing next to me, still chastising me as he had been for the past fifteen minutes. If it wasn't bad enough, I was already missing the awards too. Jaden must be looking for me by now, and I didn't want him to see me like this.

"Bree, Big D's gonna freak out. We have to go!" Leo reminded me. I did my best to glare at him, but it was kinda hard from this position.

"Leo, I can't even stand up! Everything is numb! Look!" I tried to stand up from my seat, but only managed to make myself fall out of it. I looked at Leo from my spot on the floor, defeated. "Just help me get out of here before it gets worse." I froze, feeling the numbness spread to my tongue. "It's worse!"

"What's happening?" Leo questioned, looking confused.

"The numbness spread to my tongue. I can't talk!" My words were barely coherent. Leo smiled.

"Finally, a positive side effect." He grinned.

"Leo!" I scolded. It didn't sound too harsh though, considering how hard it was to speak.

He sighed and lifted me off the floor. "Here we go." He carried me over to one of those chairs with wheels and dumped me on it. "I'm going to take you to the elevator, and when we get outside I'm going to upgrade you to a nice shopping cart, okay?"

He started wheeling me somewhere, presumably the elevator. Suddenly, we stopped. "Bree, what's wrong with you?" Jaden's voice asked.

"It's nothing." I tried to reply. Obviously, it didn't come out properly because Jaden knelt down next to the chair, looking at me with concerned eyes.

"It's a long story." Leo told him. He started moving me again, but stopped when another award was called.

"And the football MVP goes to…Jaden Parker!" The MC announced. Leo grinned.

"Way to go, Jaden!" He called, stepping back to let Jaden go get his awards. Suddenly, the chair started rolling again. It took me a second, but I soon realized that Leo must have accidently bumped the chair.

"Leo!" I tried to call. He didn't hear me. I was about to call his name again when I realize how close I was to the stairs.  _OH CRAP._  I thought before both me and the chair went flying down the stairs.

"Ow! Ow, ow, ow!" I cried out as I tumbled down the hardwood stairs. Finally, after what seemed like forever, I hit the main floor. "Ow…" I groaned one last time.

"Bree!" Jaden and Leo both bolted down the stairs, the former pushing me into a sitting position. "Are you okay?"

"Ow…no…" I mumbled. Jaden looked at Leo, then at me.

"Okay, what is going on?" He demanded. Leo sighed.

"She got herself poisoned with toxic gas while she was on a mission, then broke out of quarantine just to come see you. Anyway, now she's paralyzed and can't move and I need to get her back to the lab ASAP." He explained quickly. Jaden nodded.

"Right. I'll help you." He offered. Leo glanced back up the stairs. I could hear them calling Jaden's name again.

"Dude, what about your award?" He asked. Jaden sighed.

"Right. I'll be right back. Don't move." He added, smirking at me. I watched as he ran up the stairs and stopped at the door. "Hey Kevin! The award's all yours!" He called before jogging back down the stairs.

"You gave the award to Kevin?" Leo asked, shocked. So was I. "I thought you two were like archenemies or something."

"Yeah, something like that." Jaden agreed. He slipped one hand under my legs, wrapped on my arms around his neck, and lifted me up bridal style. "No come on, Speedy. Let's get you home."

** Chase's POV **

"Where are they?" I demanded, pacing around the room. We'd come home half an hour ago to find the alarms on and Bree and Leo both missing.

"Maybe they…oh, there they are!" Adam exclaimed. I looked up to see Leo and Jaden walking into the lab, the latter carrying Bree in his arms.

"Bree!" I exclaimed. She didn't look so good. And what was up with that massive bruise on her forehead? Jaden saw my expression.

"Yeah…she may have fallen down a flight of stairs…" he explained, faking a smile.

"Leo! You were supposed to watch her!" Mr. Davenport exclaimed as Jaden sat Bree down on a chair, sitting next to her to keep her from falling.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Leo apologized sarcastically. "Somehow the fastest person in the world managed to sneak past me!"

Mr. Davenport gave him a hard stare, then picked up the syringe with the antidote in it. "Let's just hope there's enough time for the antidote to work." He muttered, giving Bree the shot.

Nothing happened for a few seconds. Then she let out a pained groan and her eyes fluttered opened. "Bree? Are you okay?" I asked.

She slowly lifted her head off Jaden's shoulder. "I feel funny." She murmured. She stopped, eyes opening completely. "Funny. Fu-nay. Funny."

"Oh just spit it out already!" Adam ordered, looking at her. She looked at him, wide-eyed and grinning.

"I'm cured!" she exclaimed. We all let out sighs of relief. Mr. Davenport smiled.

"Oh, it's such a relief. It'll be so much more fun to punish you now that you're HEALTHY!" He shouted the last bit. "What were you thinking? You could have put us all in danger!"

Bree sighed. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to be like every other girl and hang out with the boy…I mean, hang out with my friends." She corrected herself, glancing at Jaden. "What's the big deal?"

"The big deal is you're not like every other girl!" Mr. Davenport said. "You're part of a team and your decisions affect us all."

"Yeah, because of you, I had to go to an awards banquet!" Leo complained.

"Yeah! And I haven't eaten since two-thirty!" Adam agreed. I stared at them, wondering just how crazy they were.

"Also, on a lesser not, WE ALL COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED!" I reminded them. Jaden looked at me.

"Wow dude, way to be a Debby Downer." He commented. I stared at him. Seriously? Mr. Davenport just ignored us.

"Look Bree, you can have a social life. Just don't let it interfere with your bionic life." He instructed. Bree nodded.

"I got it. From now on, when a mission comes up, it get's my full attention." She told him.

"Okay, good. I think we've all learned a very valuable lesson. So, who wants ice cream?" Mr. Davenport asked. We all started to get up, except for Bree. She nearly fell out of her chair, and would have if Jaden hadn't caught her by her arm in time. "Oh, right…it might take a little time for the antidote to get to the rest of your body."

"Why don't you guys get the food and I'll stick around to keep Bree company?" Jaden suggested. Adam and I were about to object (you didn't have to be a genius to figure out that he wanted to be alone with her) but Mr. Davenport and Leo pulled us out of there before we could.

"Oh, just let them have their alone time!" Mr. Davenport exclaimed. "She might focus more on missions once they actually start their relationship!"

"We don't know for sure that's what's going to happen." I objected. Leo looked at me.

"Do you remember what happened the last time we left two non-related people alone in the lab while the rest of us got ice cream?" he asked. I was about to ask what he was talking about, then it hit me. That was me and Calla.

"Right. Let's go." I replied, ignoring the redness in my cheeks. We walked out onto the main floor. Mr. Davenport, instead of going to the fridge, ran into the other hall. We got our ice cream and waited for him. He came back a minute later, carrying a large broom.

"Hey guys-" "WITCH!" Adam interrupted him, pointing at the broom. He looked at us, eyes wide. "How do you not see that he's a witch?"

** Bree's POV **

Jaden and I sat in the lab, awkward silence filling the air. After a few minutes, I finally spoke. "Jaden, I'm so sorry that you had to give up your award." I apologized. He shrugged.

"It wasn't that big a deal anyway." He assured me. I frowned.

"You worked so hard for it though." I objected. He looked at me.

"Bree, you're way more important to me than some dumb trophy." He told me. I felt my cheeks heat up in embarrassment.

"Really?" I asked. He nodded and grabbed my hands. It was only then that I noticed just how close we were.

"Of course. I could win a trophy again next year. It can be replaced. You can't." he told me. I smiled again and giggled. "Hey, I'm serious here."

"I know, it's just…that's so sweet." I murmured. He grinned and leaned forward. I stared at him in surprise, but his lips didn't touch mine. Not yet, anyway.

"Just tell me if you want me to stop." He whispered. He waited a moment, then kissed me on the lips. It was…too incredible to describe. He pulled away after a second, a smirk on his lips. Those perfect, perfect lips…

"Jaden…" I breathed, still a little stunned that he would kiss me, just like that.

"Bree, life's short. I like you. You like me. What have we got to lose?" he asked. I didn't answer right away, instead kissing him again.

"Nothing." I whispered as I pulled away. "We have absolutely nothing to lose."


	14. The Beginning

** Calla's POV (14 months before The Lab Assistant) **

"Jaden! Hurry up! We're going to be late!" I tapped my foot impatiently at the bottom of the stairs. It was the first day of school and I was excited. It was my first day of grade nine and that meant I was finally going to Mission Creek High School.

Last year, I'd been stuck in middle school the rest of my idiotic peers. Middle school was dull to say the least. But high school was sure to be more interesting. I would have more classes to choose from and I could take the more advanced classes to keep myself from bored.

"I'm coming! Geez, Cal. The school's not going anywhere." Jaden called down. I rolled my eyes. My brother had already been at the school for two years, so he didn't understand my excitement. Then again, Jay had never been much of a school person.

"Hurry up!" I called again. Suddenly, my phone buzzed. I pulled it out and smiled when I read the text message.

** From: Caleb **

** Hey cutie. You excited for school? What are you doing after? **

Caleb Jones was one of the coolest guys around. Over the summer, we'd started going out and it was really, really nice. Caleb wasn't a genius, but even when he didn't understand what I was talking about, he would pretend he did, just for me. Jaden didn't like him; he thought that Caleb's bad boy reputation was a problem. But I adored how tough he acted in public and how sweet he could be when we were alone.

Unfortunately, his parents had insisted on sending him to a different high school. According to them, there was something wrong with Mission Creek High's principal. They said she was violent and crazy. Although, they might just think that because that's what Jaden always says. Anyway, Caleb ended up being enrolled in Welkerville High instead of Mission Creek. It gave us less couple time, but we were both willing to adjust our schedules to make time for each other.

I sent Caleb a quick text back.

** To Caleb: **

** I'm totally pumped :) And I've got a job interview after school. **

The job interview was one of the most exciting things to happen to me so far. Donald Davenport was one of the world's most famous inventors of this age. I'd bought so many things from Davenport Industries over the years, including a cell phone tracking device (because I was always losing my cell), and fingerprint scanning lock (because I needed a way to keep my big brother out of my room) and a miniature EMP (because…well, they were cool, okay?). Anyway, Davenport had put an ad in the local newspaper that said he was looking for a new lab assistant. I, of course, jumped at the chance. My interview was tonight and I was super excited.

Caleb's reply came a second later.

** From: Caleb **

** Oh, good luck with that. Have fun today. See you later, Cals. **

I smiled at the nickname.

** To: Caleb **

** Thanks and you have fun too. See you babe. **

"I'm ready to go." Jaden came jogging down the stairs at that moment. I gave him a stern glare as I shoved my phone into my pocket and followed him outside the house.

"Why must you take so long in the mornings?" I questioned, following him down the street. "I thought girls were the ones that were supposed to take forever."

"Yes, but it takes time to get this masterpiece perfect." Jaden ran a hand through his hair. I laughed and pushed him playfully.

"So, what's the school like anyway?" I asked. Jaden smirked.

"Getting nervous?" He asked. I shook my head quickly.

"No!" I snapped. He rolled his eyes.

"It's not that big, and some of the teachers are pretty cool. They have a decent science department. You'll like that. Oh, but watch out for Principal Perry. She's terrifying."

"Why?" I frowned. Jaden looked at me.

"She's got the temper of a bull, the deadliness of a lion, and the strength of Godzilla." He told me, completely serious. I gulped. I really hoped I wouldn't run into her on my first day. Jaden looked up and smiled. "And here we are."

I looked up at the school. Okay, Jaden said that it wasn't that big, but it was much bigger than middle school. I immediately caught sight of my best friend Rebeccka.

"There's Becky!" I grinned, pointing. Jaden nodded.

"Alright, you guys catch up or do whatever you girls do together." He told me. "You can get your timetables at the main office. Try not to get lost, but if you do, find one of the guys and they'll tell you where to go."

"Tell me you didn't get your friends to play tour guides again." I pleaded. Back when I first entered middle school, Jaden had gotten his three best friends Trent, Evan, and Isaac to give me a tour of the school. None of them wanted to do it, and I didn't want it, so it was pretty awkward.

"No, I didn't do that again. But I was serious about asking them for directions." He told me. I nodded.

"Yeah, sure. See you later." I gave my brother a quick hug before rushing over to Rebeccka. She handed me a sheet.

"I grabbed your time table for you." She told me, handing it to me. I grinned and looked it over.

"Looks like we have math and English together. That's second and third period." I announced. She nodded.

"What's your homeroom?" She asked. I looked at my sheet.

"Drama with Mrs. Robinson." I replied. "What about you?"

"I have physical education with Mr. Hill." Suddenly a bell rang. I looked at my watch.

"Oh crap. Five minutes until class!" I jumped to my feet. "See you Becky!"

It didn't take me long to find the theatre room where the drama class was being held. I sat down in the front row, right next to a blonde girl. She smiled at me.

"Hey," she greeted. I smiled back.

"Hey." I replied. I looked at the stage. "So, what plays do you think we're going to be doing in drama?"

"I don't know. Probably a lot of Shakespeare. I'm guessing Othello, Midsummer Night's Dream, Romeo and Juliet, or Julius Caesar." She replied. I grinned.

"I really hope we do Julius Caesar." I told her. She nodded.

"I know. It's one of the better plays." She agreed. "Oh, I'm Jessica by the way."

I shook her hand. "Calla. It's nice to meet you."

The rest of the day went on as normal as high school could be. Jaden, being the overprotective brother he is, insisted that I sit with him and the football players at lunch. So of course, I ignored him completely and sat with Jessica and Rebeccka.

After school, Jaden drove me to the Davenport Industries Main Office for my interview. "Good luck." He told me. "I'll be back in an hour."

"Alright." I watched him go. I turned back to the building, took a deep breath, and walked in.

I had to wait about fifteen minutes for my interview. Eventually though, the door opened. A tall girl with dark blonde hair stepped out. She smiled at the receptionist, who then called my name.

I walked into the office. It was fairly clean, probably from lack of use. The only person in there was Donald Davenport himself. He was sitting behind his desk, talking to someone on the phone. He did not look pleased.

"Adam, I don't care how small he is, you are not to throw your brother across the room." He was saying. I blinked, wondering what the hell could be happening on the other side of that phone call. "Just take the laptop and watch Sponge Bob on it or something! Listen, I have to go."

He hung up the phone with a sigh. "Sorry about that." He apologized as I took my seat.

"You have kids?" I asked curiously. He shook his head.

"It's complicated." He answered vaguely. I nodded, not wanting to bother him about stuff that didn't concern me. He looked at the papers in front of him. "So, you're Calla, correct?"

"Yes sir." I replied, smiling. He nodded and looked over my résumé.

"Straight As, all nineties in all the sciences." He mused. "Impressive. But I've got a few questions for you."

"Alright." I nodded. He asked me several questions. Most of them were the normal ones, like 'why do you want to work for this business?' and 'what's your greatest weakness?' but some of them were very unusual. At least three quarters of the unusual questions were about him, but the rest were even weirder. They included force fields and lasers and super speed and strategic planning. Nothing I had actually thought would be in the interview.

"Calla, one last question." He said eventually. I nodded, gesturing for him to go on. "How good are you at keeping secrets?"

I frowned, unprepared for the question. I assumed he meant keeping the details of secret projects hidden from other companies. "I'd say I'm fairly good at it. If need be, I'd be able to keep company secrets hidden."

Mr. Davenport nodded. "Alright. We'll be in touch."

I nodded. "Thank you sir." I replied before walking out of the office. I frowned, remembering his last question. What a weird way to end the interview.

** Calla's POV (the next day) **

"No! No! You idiot, pass it!" I shouted at the TV. It was football night, which meant that Jaden, the school's football team, Caleb and I were all sitting around my TV, watching the game.

"TOUCHDOWN!" All the boys in the room cheered loudly. My mom appeared in the doorway.

"Calla!" She called. I looked up from my spot next to Caleb. "Phone call."

"Be right back." I told Caleb. He kissed me on the cheek and I picked up the phone, entering my bedroom for more privacy.

"Calla speaking." I greeted.

" _Calla, this is Donald Davenport._ " I froze. No way. No way. NO WAY!

"Oh, hello sir." I tried to hold back my excitement until he said the actual words.

" _I guess you know why I'm calling."_ He chuckled.

"I got the job?" I guessed.

" _Yes. You were the best applicant for the job. Congratulations."_

"Yes!" I let out a tiny squeal, covering the phone with my hand. Then I spoke into again, trying to sound business like. "Thank you sir."

" _When can you start?"_ He asked. I grinned.

"Is tomorrow good?" I asked.

" _Be at the office by four."_  He instructed before hanging up. I was grinning when I walked back into the living room.

"What was that about?" Caleb asked, pulling me into his arms. I grinned and laid my head on his shoulder.

"I got the lab assistant job!" I exclaimed.

"Good. You deserve it." He told me before lifting my head and kissing me. I kissed him back, then after we broke apart, I returned my head to where it had previously been.

"I wonder what it's going to be like." I murmured to myself.

** Calla's POV (8 months before The Lab Assistant) **

In the months that followed that phone call, I ended up working by myself more than with Mr. Davenport. He usually only came into the office on Tuesdays, the rest of the time being spent at home. I had to admit, I found it a bit odd, but it did give me a long leash. So long as I got all my work down before he came to check on it, I could do whatever I wanted. This usually meant that I would help some of the designers test the new products. Which, by the way, was pretty awesome. Except for the occasional fire. That wasn't so awesome.

But I still wondered why he spent so little time at the office. Sure, he could get more work done on his own, but the office had more equipment than he likely did. I suspected that the only reason he hired an assistant was so that I could do all the office work for him.

It was alright though; I didn't mind. Sure it wasn't what I was expecting, but hey, it was something. And I was learning a bit, I guess. Which was good. Not to mention, I had a fifteen percent discount at the gift shop. They didn't have much there, most of the items having Mr. Davenport's face on it, but they did sell some of the less dangerous inventions.

Then about six months after I started working as his assistant, things started to change. Mr. Davenport started coming into the office more, giving me bigger responsibilities. He took more of an interest in my work, and even told me about many of his own projects. I learned a lot more about the man too. There were three things that caught my attention the most.

One, he was very self-centered. He LOVED to talk about himself. Two, he was single and dating online. He mentioned a woman a couple of times. Tasha or something. He sounded like he was really into her. Three, he had a great interest in combing technology and biology. Seriously, he really wanted it to happen. Whenever he wasn't talking about himself, we were debating the pros and cons of what he called 'Bionic Super Humans'. Honestly, they sounded more like they belonged in a comic book, but if it could be real, that would be awesome.

One day, just as I was getting ready to leave, he stopped me. "Calla, I want you to come here for work tomorrow instead of the office." He told me, handing me an address. I frowned, reading it.

"How come?" I asked curiously.

"I've got a project I want to show you." He looked around. "Just remember what you said about keeping secrets."

I looked at him, trying to decide it I should be concerned or excited. Unfortunately, I was a little too curious for my own good. "Yes sir. I'll be there." I promised.

The next day at school went by pretty quickly. Some new students were introduced: Kieran Moore, Aster Grey, Leo Dooley, Kayliegh Wright, and Kaitlin Mulligan. I didn't really pay much attention to them, although I think Jaden had a thing for Kaitlin. So, we invited Kaitlin to join Jessica, Rebeccka and I at lunch. She seemed very…intense, but a little nice.

"Okay, why would the guy want you to come to his house after school?" Jaden questioned, pulling into the driveway. I shrugged, looking up at the large house. It was massive. Quite impressive too. But I guess all millionaires would have a house like this.

"No idea." I replied, climbing out of the car. "I'll see you later."

He gave me a confused look, but drove away. I looked up at the house once more before knocking on the front door.

** Chase's POV (8 months before The Lab Assistant) **

"Is it my turn yet?" I questioned again. It was a Friday, which meant that it was ping-pong night. Mr. Davenport hadn't come down to the lab yet – he said he was waiting for someone – so right now, Adam and Bree were hogging the ping pong table.

"Not until I beat Bree!" Adam replied, ducking as our sister shot the ping pong ball over his head. I sighed and picked up my laptop, intending to find something to do. Adam was never going to beat Bree. She always cheated.

"So, Mr. Davenport, what is this project you've been working on?" We all froze, an unfamiliar voice coming from inside the lab. "And why did you keep it a secret from me?"

A girl walked in, an actual human girl. Not Mr. Davenport, not a robot. We were stunned. The girl was pretty, with long brown hair. Her blue eyes swept over us as we stared at her. Who was she? How had she gotten down here?

Mr. Davenport walked up behind her, an amused smile on his face. He'd been in a better mood lately, ever since he started dating that Tasha woman. The girl turned her head slightly to speak to him, but her eyes never left us. "Uh, who are they?" she asked.

Mr. Davenport's grin grew. "Remember how I mentioned to you that bionic hero idea?" he asked her. We all stared at him. He was telling her our secret? I thought no one was supposed to know about us. That's why we weren't allowed out of the lab.

The girl nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah. You said something about them being able to do the jobs humans can't. The ones that are too dangerous or impossible without special abilities." She replied. Then she stopped as it hit her. She turned to us, eyes wide. "Wait, you already started on them? Not fair!"

She sounded so annoyed that she didn't get to work on our bionics with him. It was actually kinda funny. Mr. Davenport, however, didn't find it so amusing.

"It's totally fair. My lab, after all." He started to argue with the girl. She shrugged, her eyes lit up with amusement.

"Fine, fair enough." She agreed. She glanced at us. "But I think keeping children in your basement is kind of illegal. You are aware of that right?"

Adam, Bree and I looked at her, wondering if she was considering turning us in. I hoped not. Mr. Davenport didn't look too worried though.

"Yes, I'm aware of that." He replied. She shrugged.

"Alright, cool." She replied. "But why are you telling me though?"

That question was on all of our minds. "I need you to babysit them tonight. I'm going out." He replied. We all groaned. We did NOT need a babysitter. But luckily for us, the girl didn't look too keen on the idea either.

"I'm not a babysitter." She told him seriously.

"You're still getting paid for overtime." He told her. She grinned.

"Babysitting? I LOVE babysitting!" She exclaimed. I rolled my eyes. Some people would do anything for money. "Oh yeah, so where're you going? An awards banquet? A Nobel Prize award show? A date?"

Mr. Davenport smiled. "The last one. I'm going to meet my girlfriend, Tasha Dooley, at that new restaurant tonight." He replied. He checked his watch. "And I have to get going."

"Okay, bye Mr. Davenport!" The girl called as he left the room. She turned to us and we had a long, awkward stare down. It was weird, having another person in the lab. And I could tell she didn't really know what to do either.

Eventually though, the girl broke the silence. "Just so you know, the last time I tried to babysit, I lost the kids. Hopefully, this will work out better."

We looked at her, trying to decided how serious she was. She was trying to look serious, but the grin on her face gave her away. I looked at my siblings. Both of them seemed unsure of how to proceed, so I took over. "My name's Chase." I introduced myself, holding out my hand. "This is my sister, Bree, and my brother, Adam."

"ABC, huh?" The girl joked, shaking my hand. "The name's Calla. I'm Davenport's assistant."

Adam looked at her, sizing her up. "Yeah, he mentioned you. But why are you babysitting us? You're our age."

Calla shrugged and sat down in my seat. "No clue. Probably wants to entertain me instead of sending me home." She replied. I didn't think that was it. I'd overheard Mr. Davenport talking to Eddy earlier. He'd said something about wanting us to get some social experience with someone our own age. Something about how it would be good for us.

Calla looked around, curiosity in her gaze. "So, what do you guys do for fun around here? If you say Yahtzee, I'm gonna lose it." She asked. Bree frowned.

"What do you have against Yahtzee?" she asked. Calla sighed.

"It's a really long story that involves broken windows and me being grounded for an entire week." She replied. "Oh, and my brother ended up with a black eye."

We just looked at her. She sighed. "Okay, so what do you want to do? Because if you guys don't have any ideas, I'm going to check out all the cool technology he has down here. I've never seen half of it before. It all looks so cool!"

Bree groaned. "Oh no! It's a female Chase!" She complained. I sent her a glare.

"And why is that such a bad thing?" I demanded. Calla laughed.

"It was just a joke. Relax." She told me. "Now seriously, let's actually do something!"

"Like what?" I asked. She glanced towards the ping pong table.

"You guys any good?" she asked, picking up a paddle. I smirked.

"Let's find out, shall we?" I suggested, grabbing one for myself.

We ended up playing a sort of tournament. I won, like usual, but Calla came in a close second, with Bree in third and Adam in fourth. After we played that, Calla ordered a pizza, and we watched a movie on the laptop. It was almost eleven o'clock by time Mr. Davenport got home.

"How was your date?" Bree asked as he walked in. Mr. Davenport grinned.

"It was amazing!" he exclaimed. He glanced at Calla, who was currently trying to toss a piece of popcorn into Adam's open mouth. Her aim wasn't that good, so the ground around them was littered with the salty treat. "How much do I owe you for tonight?"

She looked at the clock on the computer. "Sixty…almost seventy bucks." She replied. She got up and stretched. "God, is it really that late? I'm gonna call my mom or brother for a ride."

"Wait, you're going to come back, right?" Bree demanded. Adam nodded.

"Yeah, you has to! You promised that we'd watch that X-Men movie collection!" He whined.

"Well, it depends…" Calla trailed off, looking at Mr. Davenport. "Can I?"

"Yes, but not all of it's going to be fun. You have to work, you know. That means supervising training, helping with my inventions, and doing chores." He reminded her. She just grinned, her pearly whites shining.

"That actually sounds pretty cool. Well, except for the chores, but I'm totally in!" She exclaimed. Adam, Bree, and I exchanged smiles. Something told me that this girl would make our lives very interesting…

** Chase's POV (1 month before the Lab Assistant) **

"Wow, this is tenth grade math homework?" I questioned, looking at the textbook Calla had brought for me. "I'm sorry, but don't you guys do anything more advanced?"

"Well, we're not all geniuses like you." Calla replied, picking up another order form. Mr. Davenport had given her a pile to go through while he went to his 'extra-special' date with Tasha. Why it was extra-special, no one knew, but he sure seemed excited.

Anyway, we were all hanging in the lab like usual. Bree was going through Calla's old magazines, Adam was playing video games on the main computer, and I was watching Calla work.

It'd been a long time since Calla had first come down here. A long, long time. It had been a little weird at first, seeing someone else down here, but eventually I got used to it after I realized she was here to stay. I actually thought she was going to leave at first. I mean, why would she want to spend all her time down in this lab? She could be outside, having fun instead of sitting down here with us.

But she stayed, so I guess that meant she did like it down here for some reason. I highly suspected that reason was us.

Anyway, in the time that Calla had been our friend, we'd learned a lot about her and the normal world. She told us everything about it, whether it was a boring history class, or that time she went to the beach with her family. I learned that she'd been dating this guy, Caleb, for a long time and that she really, really liked him. She was in the tenth grade, and she had an older brother named Jaden. Her mom was a police officer for our town, and according to Calla, one of the best. Her father was a military man and was currently stationed overseas.

"So, Calla, how are things between you and Caleb?" Bree asked suddenly, looking up from her magazines. "He still acting weird?"

"He's been acting weird?" I asked, looking at the girl. She shrugged and grabbed another sheet.

"Sorta…I guess. He's just really distant right now. I don't know why." She replied with a sigh. "But then again, his dad has been trying to get him into the family business lately too, so maybe he's just really busy."

"Yeah, that's probably it." I agreed. She shrugged again and went back to work, only looking up when Mr. Davenport skipped in. And yes, I said skipped.

"Well, someone's in a good mood." Adam commented. Mr. Davenport grinned and leaned against the holo-table.

"Guys, I have a very important announcement to make." He declared. We looked at him, curious. "I'm getting married."

We all sat there, stunned. "M-married?" Bree gasped. "To Tasha?"

He nodded. "Congrats, man!" Adam applauded. I grinned.

"Yeah, that's awesome!" I exclaimed.

"Yes, congratulations, sir." Calla agreed. He smiled back, but Calla felt the need to ruin the moment with logic. "But does she know about these guys?"

"Um…no. Don't tell her." Mr. Davenport ordered. We all looked at him. Even Adam seemed to realize what a bad idea keeping this a secret was.

"But, she's going to find out eventually. I mean, you can't keep the lab a secret from her. You're almost always in here. And if she finds out about the lab, she'll find out about them." Calla pointed out. Mr. Davenport gave her a hard look.

"I'll deal with it when the time comes." He decided. "But until then, you're going to zip it, understood?"

Calla nodded silently, pretending to zip close her lips. "Good. Alright, so it's planned it three and a half weeks." Mr. Davenport continued. He started telling us all about the wedding plans. It seemed useless – it's not like we were going to be able to attend – but I think he was nervous and when he was nervous or excited, he never stopped talking. Bree did the same thing, except when she was really nervous, she spoke at super speed and you couldn't understand her.

"And Calla, I'm going to need you to pick up the slack around here for the next few weeks." Mr. Davenport finished, looking at her. She nodded, checked her phone, and stood up.

"Sure, of course." She agreed. "But not tomorrow. Tomorrow I've got a party to attend."

"Who's party?" Bree asked as Calla grabbed her laptop and her bag.

"I'm going to my cousin's. It's her birthday party." She replied. "Anyway, see you guys!"

** Chase's POV (The day the Lab Assistant begins) **

"Check." Calla announced, moving her queen so that it threatened my king.

It had been about a month since Mr. Davenport announced that he was getting married and a lot had changed. He was gone more (we hadn't seen him for the past week because of honeymoon and wedding planning) and Calla was down in the lab more. The latter was mainly because she broke up with that guy she was dating. I didn't know the full details, except that she was really upset when she came back the next day. That's also around the same time I taught her how to play chess. I figured it would give her something to distract her mind. It worked a little too well. She was really good.

"Um…" I looked at my pieces. I moved one of my pawns so that it blocked her queen. "Your move."

Anyway, chess had become a habit of ours now. Adam was off looking for his IPod – he lost it. And Bree was going through his IPod, trying to figure out what type of music he had on it. So that left me and Calla, bored out of our minds.

"Hey, nerds!" We turned to see Eddy on the main screen.

"What do you want Eddy?" I sighed.

"A, Calla asked me to give her a reminder when she had to leave." He replied. Calla checked her watch.

"Oh crap. I didn't even realize the time." She got up and grabbed her laptop. "I'll kick your butt at chess next time, Chase."

"In your dreams." I teased back. I looked at Eddy. "Was there something else?"

"Oh yeah, Donny's back. He brought  _Tasha_ ," you could tell by Eddy's tone that he didn't like Tasha, "and her twerp of a son."

"She has a son?" I asked. Eddy's response was to show us. The kid was short, maybe fourteen years old, with black hair and dark skin.

"Yeah, he's a twerp." Calla agreed jokingly. "Wait a minute…"

"What's up?" I asked. Calla frowned.

"I think he goes to my school. Yeah, I'm pretty sure he transferred a few months ago. The football players are always picking on him." She remembered.

"That must suck." I mumbled. She nodded.

"It does." She agreed. "Anyway, it'll be cool to have him around, seeing as we both go to the same school. We might end up having something in common."

"Right." I agreed, just for the sake of it. Honestly, I wasn't sure about this kid. I mean, what if Calla spent more time with him than us? Who were we supposed to hang out with? It wasn't like anyone else knew about us!

"Anyway, I will see you guys tomorrow. I've got to go." Calla waved at me before heading towards the elevator. I watched her on Eddy's monitor as she talked and smiled at Leo and Tasha before leaving. Not for the first time, I wondered what this marriage would do to our lives and how it would affect us.


	15. Adventures in Bionic Babysitting

** Mr. Davenport's POV **

"Tasha, come on." I urged my wife as she followed me out of the car. She rolled her eyes.

"Donald, I'm sure everything's fine." She assured me.

"Calla and Leo said there was an emergency." I reminded her. I absolutely hated leaving the kids alone. So much could easily go wrong and with these five, things usually went wrong.

"Remember the time Adam asked you to come home because there was an emergency and it turned out that they just lost the TV remote?" She reminded me. I nodded in agreement, but couldn't shake my bad feeling.

"Maybe you're right." I agreed, opening the front door. I then saw that she was very, very wrong.

The dining table had been shattered again, the destroyed chandelier lying on top of the broken glass. The coffee table was missing, the couch knocked over with a large black burnt area on both it and the carpet. One of the stools by the counter were knocked over and the faint scent of smoke was in the air.

As for the kids, the only one in the room was Calla. She was fast asleep, leaning against a couch cushion. Then there was the little boy curled up beside her. He looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn't figure out where I'd seen him before.

"Calla?" I demanded. She woke with a start.

"Oh, hey Mr. Davenport. It's about time you got here." She commented, getting up.

"What's going on? Who's the kid and where are Adam, Bree, Chase and Leo?" I demanded. She hesitated, listening for something. There was a shout from the other room.

"Wait for it." She told me. Leo ran in a second later, followed by two other children. One was a young girl and the other a young boy. Neither one of them could have been older than five.

"There's Leo, Adam, and Bree." Calla told me, pointing at them. "And Chase is right here with me."

I stared at her. "Well, this should be an interesting story." I commented. Leo and Calla looked at each other before they began to explain.

** FLASHBACK! **

** Calla's POV **

"Who's ready for this weekend?" I called, entering the Davenport household carrying my overnight bag. Adam and Chase were on the couch, playing some sort of zombie video game that they loved. Leo and Bree were in the kitchen, the former feeding Glitch and the latter texting someone. They were the only ones to look up as I walked in.

"You know, Chase," Bree shook her head at her brother's lack in response, "most girls would find it rude for their boyfriends to pay more attention to some video game than them."

"Yeah, but Calla's not like most girls. She appreciates the art of virtual zombie destruction." Chase replied, eyes not leaving the screen. I leaned on the back on the couch behind him.

"Hell yeah I do. Now shoot that zombie through the head!" I ordered. Bree gave me a strange look.

"Seriously? You like zombie video games too?" She questioned. I shrugged.

"So?" I asked, wondering why it was such a big deal. She just shook her head at me and muttered something about Chase's love of video games rubbing off on me before going back to her conversation. Probably with my brother. They'd been texting non-stop since they got together. Even Chase and I didn't text each other that much, although I suspected that the amount of texting will drop drastically after Jaden gets his next phone bill. Unlike Bree, he does not have unlimited texting and this would likely come back to bite him.

"Hey Calla." Mr. Davenport greeted, walking into the room with a suitcase. "Are Jaden and your mom already gone? I thought they weren't leaving until ten."

"Jaden wanted to get on the road early so they could check into the hotel before one. Something about eating before his game." Jaden had a big football tournament this weekend in Marionville and because it was a four hour drive, they'd elected to stay in a hotel. I elected to stay here at the Davenports, even though Mr. Davenport and Tasha were going to be in a big science conference in Seaford all day. So basically, we had the entire house to ourselves until tomorrow afternoon.

"Okay, you five behave." Tasha went around and kissed her children's foreheads then picked her own suitcase up from the doorway. "There's money on the counter for pizza, Glitch has more food in the closet, and you all have our cell numbers in case of an emergency."

"Leo, no touching anything in the lab without permission from Calla or Chase." Mr. Davenport instructed, giving the boy a stern look. "In case of a disaster, they're in charge."

"Got it." "That's so unfair." "Cool." "Mmm…pizza." "Have a fun trip." We waved as they left and watched as their car backed out of the driveway. Leo looked at me and Chase.

"How come I'm not allowed to touch his inventions?" he demanded. We all looked at him.

"You DO remember the LEMP incident, right?" Bree questioned. Leo sent her a glare that told us that he remembered it and did not like it being brought up. Bree rolled her eyes and grabbed my arm.

"Since the boys are still playing their video games, do you want to hang out downstairs?" she suggested. I nodded and followed her down to the lab after leaving my bag in the guest room.

"So, what's up?" I asked, sitting down at my desk. Bree sat down on the chair by the main consol.

"Nothing really. But it's cooler down here than it is up there and I just got a bunch of new clothes." She smiled and I grinned back.

"Sweet! Let's see!" I exclaimed. Once in a while, Bree and I would do this silly little runway model thing to show off our new clothes. It was silly and really girly, but it was really fun at the same time.

So that's how Bree and I spent the majority of the day laughing and talking over her new outfits. By dinner though, she returned to texting Jaden and I continued to work on my latest project.

"Hey, what are you guys up to?" Adam asked as he, Chase, and Leo walked into the lab. Chase pulled a chair behind me to look at my invention while the other boys grabbed seats around the room.

"Well, she's flirting with my brother," I jerked my thumb at Bree, "and I'm working on this."

"What's that?" Leo asked, pointing at the invention on my desk. It looked like a small box with holes on each side of it. There was a glass container on the top. I stopped fiddling with the screws to look at Leo.

"This is my latest invention. It's my de-ager." I stated proudly. Chase was the only one without a confused look on his face, so I decided to explain. "You know how bread and fruits and that stuff often go bad before you can eat it? Well this is supposed to de-age it back to when it's still ripe. If I can perfect it, it will be able to save enough old food to feed thousands."

"Seriously?" Leo grinned. "Let's see it!"

"I don't know…" I replied hesitantly. "It hasn't been tested yet and I don't want to test it without Mr. Davenport being here. If something goes wrong, he usually knows how to fix it." Plus, if someone got hurt, it would be a good idea to have an adult present.

"What's the worse thing that can happen?" Bree questioned, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Explosion." I replied shrugging. I really didn't know what could happen. Leo grinned.

"That will just make it cooler. Now test it out!" He ordered. I sighed and grabbed a plastic bag out of a box at one end of the lab. Inside was a moldy piece of bread that had been sitting in there for a couple of weeks.

"That is disgusting." Bree wrinkled her nose at the green and white bread. I nodded and carefully lifted it out with gloved hands. I dropped the piece of disgustingness into the glass part and closed the lid.

"Here goes nothing." I muttered, pressing the ON button.

For a second, nothing happened. Then smoke started to rise from the device. It started to shake slightly. "Is it supposed to do that?" Bree asked as I slowly got out from my seat. I shook my head, backing away from it.

"Nope." I replied. The device started shaking more and more smoke, white like the kind firefighters use in simulations, poured out.

"It's going to explode isn't it?" Leo realized. I nodded.

"Probably. We should go." I suggested. We started to back away from the device and were almost at the elevator when suddenly the shaking and the smoke stopped. "Or not. It might not explode."

I spoke too soon. The second the words left my mouth, white light started to burst from the device. I felt myself being pushed towards the elevator and I hit Leo, knocking both of us to the ground. Someone must have hit the button because the doors were closing. With Adam, Bree, and Chase still in range of the upcoming explosion.

"Cha-" I couldn't even finish his name as the doors shut. There was a loud 'boom' sound and light filtered through the closed elevator doors. Leo and I stared wide-eyed at them, waiting for the light to die down.

"Do you think they're okay?" Leo demanded as we both jumped to our feet. I didn't answer, instead slamming my fist against the OPEN button, a silent prayer going through my head. None of my devices had ever malfunctioned like that before. I knew I shouldn't have tested it with them around. Please, please, please let them be okay.

Finally, the doors opened. Leo and I ran into the lab, expecting it to be destroyed.

"What in the world?" Leo muttered, looking around the perfectly normal lab. There wasn't even a fire. My device lay on the ground, smoke rising from it, but that was the only damage in the room. But Adam, Bree, and Chase were no where to be seen.

"Guys?" I called, hoping that they were pulling a prank on us and hiding somewhere in the lab. "Chase? Adam, Bree?"

"You don't think something terrible happened, do you?" Leo asked, sounding horrified. I was about to object when I heard a sound coming from behind the large couch the others kept down here. Leo and I exchanged confused looks and I slowly walked towards the couch.

"Hello?" I asked, confused. Something moved behind it again, something small. Realizing what it must be, I ran backwards until I was standing behind Leo. "If a raccoon got in here, you're dealing with it." I told him, grabbing the name plate off my desk to use as a weapon. Leo looked at me.

"You'll fight evil androids, psychopath evil scientists, you'll even stand up to Perry, but you're scared of a raccoon?" he questioned. I glared at him and pointed at the couch.

"Deal with it." I ordered, sitting on top of my desk. Leo sighed, took the name plate from me and walked towards the couch.

"Nice raccoon, good raccoon." He spoke slowly, trying not to scare it. When nothing jumped out and attacked him, he inched closer and closer to the couch. He sent me a confused glance, then looked behind the couch. "AHH!" He screamed after about two seconds and a small figure bolted out from behind the couch.

But the figure wasn't an animal, but rather a little girl. Said little girl ran towards me screaming, then having realized that she didn't know me, tried to run away. As confused as I was, I managed to regain enough sense to catch the little girl before she could get far.

"Hey!" I exclaimed as she tried to wriggle out of my grip. She screamed and tried to get away.

"Go away!" she cried. "Addy, help!"

"Leave her alone!" A little boy climbed out from behind the couch and pulled himself on top of it. "Leave Bree alone!"

Leo and I both froze and my eyes went down to the struggling child in my arms. She had long, messy brown hair and frightened brown eyes. I then realized that the clothes she was wearing were much too big for a child that small. I looked at Leo, eyes wide. His were as big as saucers, both of us having realized what had happened.

"Oh my god, what have we done?" I demanded, letting go of Bree. She sped over to Adam using her super speed and grabbed his arm tightly. Both children were looking at us fearfully.

"What have we done?" Leo repeated. "It was your invention!"

"Oh man, I Leo-d this up!" I complained.

"I thought I told you to stop using my name as a verb!" Leo exclaimed. I looked at him.

"Leo, we turned them into four year olds!" I nearly shouted, pointing at the two children sitting on the couch.

"I'm five, not four!" The little boy shouted. I figured that was Adam, seeing as he seemed older than Bree and had short black hair. Leo and I exchanged looks.

"You can deal with this one." He told me. I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose.

"Call Davenport, tell him we have a small problem." Unlike Leo, I usually admitted when I screwed up instead of trying to hide the problem. "I'll try and calm these guys down."

"Got it." Leo nodded and ran for the elevator. I walked towards Adam and Bree, both of whom shrunk back into the couch.

"Who're you?" Adam asked, hugging his sister. I mentally groaned. Great, not only did I turn them into little kids, I also erased part of their memories. This was just not my day.

"Hey, it's alright." I told them in the most soothing voice I could. "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm a friend."

"Where's Mister D?" Bree asked, looking at me with big eyes.

"He had to go out of town for a little bit. Leo and I are supposed to watch over you guys." Telling them this little white lie would be much easier than explaining the whole 'I-turned-you-into-little-kids thing. "I'm Calla."

"Oh. Hi Calla." Adam sent me a toothy grin. I smiled back, and looked around.

"Hi Adam. Where's Chase?" Judging by their ages, my boyfriend must be around three, right? Maybe two.

"Chase-y!" Adam and Bree exclaimed. The latter sped behind the couch and came back a second later, tugging a little three year old boy with light brown hair by his arm. "Here he is!" Bree announced proudly. "Say hi to Calla, Chase!"

"Hi Cawwa." Chase muttered shyly. I had to stop myself from cooing at the adorableness. I knelt down so that I was eye level with them. Well, two of them. Chase was still shorter than everyone else.

"Hi guys." I smiled at them. "So, why don't we go upstairs? That way you can say hi to Leo too."

"But we're not supposed to go upstairs!" Adam objected. "Mister D said no."

"Well, Mr. Davenport said it's okay if Leo and I are with you." I assured them. Their faces lit up like it was Christmas. Adam grabbed Chase's hand and started pulling the younger boy towards the elevator, while Bree sped ahead. I grabbed my phone off my desk and took a photo of the two brothers. There was no way anyone was going to believe me about this otherwise.

I stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for Bree. She'd been trying to do it herself, but wasn't tall enough to press the buttons. As soon as the elevator dinged and the doors opened on the main floor, she was gone, running into the living room. Leo was sitting on the couch, the phone in his hands. I walked towards him, Adam and Chase following me. They were both looking around, eyes wide and full of awe.

"You call Davenport?" I asked hopefully. Leo nodded.

"I did, but he didn't pick up. Neither did my mom." He glanced at Adam, Bree, and Chase. "Okay, so what exactly happened? Everything was happening so fast."

"I think the device overloaded. It would explain why it exploded the way it did, and it would explain why it did that to them. The ray that de-ages the food came out as it overloaded and it hit everyone else. And it de-aged them about twelve/thirteen years."

"And it erased their memories?" Leo guessed. I was about to reply when I heard a high-pitched shriek.

"PUPPY!" Bree cried, throwing herself at Glitch. The golden retriever puppy let himself be pushed onto the carpet and licked the girl's face. She giggled, hugging the life out of the dog.

"Have you ever babysat before?" I asked Leo as Adam and Chase ran over to Glitch. He shook his head.

"No. Have you?" He asked hopefully. I nodded, remember the time I babysat for the neighbors.

"Yes, but they were twelve and I ended up losing them for twenty minutes." I replied. Leo gave me a weird look and I felt the need to defend myself. "It was a big house and they decided to go play in the attic while I was in the washroom."

"We are so screwed." Leo muttered under his breath. I nodded.

"Okay, one of us have to go get stuff for them." I decided. He frowned, so I explained. "They need clothing that fits, maybe a couple of toys to entertain them."

"Right, so I'll go do that while you babysit?" He asked hopefully. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"The nearest shopping center is a ten minute drive and you don't even have a working bicycle." I pointed out. To be fair, it wasn't his fault that his bike was broken. That was Adam's fault. He'd been showing off for Jessica and accidentally crashed it into a dumpster.

"Fine, but don't leave me alone with them for long!" Leo pleaded. I rolled my eyes and grabbed my wallet.

"You'll be fine." I assured him. Oh, how wrong I was.

** Leo's POV **

I tried calling Big D again after Calla left. Once again, I got his answering machine. "Hey Big D, it's Leo. Listen, we have a bit of an emergency and we need you to call us back ASAP. Oh, and before you get any ideas, this time it was completely Calla's fault. I had nothing to do with it this time, I swear."

I felt someone tugging on my shirt as I hung up. I looked down to see Chase looking at me, confusion in his eyes. "Misser Weo?" he asked, not pronouncing the T is mister or the L in my name properly.

"Yeah Chase?" I asked, trying to have the same enthusiastic expression Calla did when she was dealing with the kids.

"Where's Miss Cawwa goin'?" He asked, frowning. I sighed.

"She's just going shopping. She'll be back soon, okay?" I told him. He nodded. Adam stood up suddenly.

"I'm bored!" he complained. Bree nodded, still petting Glitch.

"Me too!" She exclaimed.

"Me thwee!" Chase agreed, pulling on my arm. "Pway wit us!"

I sighed, knowing that I had to. I let Chase lead me over to where Glitch was lying. I sat down on the ground next to them. "Okay, what do you want to play?"

"Superheroes!" Adam exclaimed. "I wanna be Superman!"

He posed with his chest out as if he was indeed Superman. I nearly laughed, but at least they didn't want to play house or castle or anything like that.

"I wanna be Batman!" Chase grabbed my arm, jumping up and down. I chuckled.

"But I wanted to be Batman!" I objected jokingly. Chase frowned, tears filling his eyes.

"But I aways Batman!" he cried. I quickly tried to fix my mistake.

"You can be Batman!" I told him. "I can be someone else!"

"You can be Wobin!" He exclaimed, clapping his hands. It took me a moment to realize that he meant Robin.

"Okay, what about you Bree?" I asked. She stopped petting Glitch and thought about it long and hard.

"I wanna be Princess Peach!" she declared, jumping to her feet.

"But she's not a superhero." I replied. Bree glared at me.

"Yes she is." She told me harshly. I had the feeling that if I argued, she would get upset, so I decided to keep my mouth shut.

"Okay, fine." I replied, causing her to smile happily. "So, what now?"

"Now we have to go stop the bad guy!" Bree exclaimed, speeding out the door. Wait, out the door?

"Bree!" I shouted, running outside after her. I stopped just past the porch, looking around. Calla always remembered to close the front gate after she left, so I doubted that Bree managed to get off the property, but where was she?

I found her a few seconds later, trying to climb a tree. "Bree!" I shouted, rushing over. Startled by my sudden appearance, she lost her grip and fell back on her butt. Luckily, she was only about a foot off the ground when she fell, so she wasn't hurt that bad. But she was crying. "Bree, don't cry." I pleaded, kneeling down in front of her. She continued to sob. Man, what was I supposed to do? I didn't even know how to deal with people my age crying, let alone little kids! "Bree, if you stop crying…I'll admit that Princess Peach is a superhero!"

She stopped and looked at me with teary eyes. "Okay? Princess Peach is an ever better superhero than Batman and Superman, okay?" I asked, trying to calm her down. The tears dried up instantly and she threw her small arms around my neck, hugging me. I hugged her back and she released me. Suddenly, her eyes lit up mischievously and she sped off again, this time in the direction of the house. "Wait for me!"

I ran after Bree, only to have the front door slammed in my face. I glared at it and tried the doorknob. To my genuine surprise, it was locked. I banged on the door. "Guys, let me in." I instructed calmly.

"No!" A giggly voice replied. I banged on the door again.

"Let me in, Bree." I said again, this time a little agitated.

"No, no. Not by the hair on my chinny chin chin." Bree teased, using a line from the Three Little Pigs. I guess that little kids would find this amusing, but I didn't.

"Adam, Chase? You guys want to let me inside?" I called.

"No." "Nu-uh." I got in reply. I groaned.

"Guys!" I exclaimed. "Open the door, this isn't funny!"

That time I didn't get an answer, but they didn't open the door either. I highly suspected that they left to entertain themselves. I was in the process of trying to find the spare key when I heard a loud crash coming from inside along with crying. I banged on the door again. "What was that?"

Bree's face appeared in the window nearby. "Addy pushed over the couch." She told me. "Chase-y won't stop crying."

"Well, I might be able to get him to stop crying if you let me come inside." I offered. She thought about it, then stuck her tongue out at me.

"No." She replied before running away from the window. I ran onto the porch and looked through the window to see what was going on. Sure enough, the couch was tipped over. It must have hit the coffee table when it fell, because it was lying on the ground, all four of its legs broken. Chase was crying on the ground, Adam and Bree both trying to calm him down. He only stopped bawling when Bree handed him a cell phone.

"Hey, that looks just like…" I trailed off, hands reaching into my pockets. They were empty. "…my phone."

I just hoped that Calla got back before they destroyed the house.

** Calla's POV **

"Hmmm…blue or red?" I stood in front of the clothing rack at the mall, trying to decide which outfit to get Adam, Bree, and Chase. It occurred to me that Davenport must have had old clothing for them from when they were little kids, but that was so long ago, he might not have them anymore. And as the new capsules weren't designed for little kid use (why would they be?) it wouldn't be able to dress them.

I had just decided on a set of red PJs for Adam, blue for Chase, and yellow for Bree when my phone rang.

"Calla Parker at Davenport Industries, how may I help you?" I answered it. No one answered me, but I could hear sound on the other end. "Hello?"

" _I'll have one large baba ganoush ."_  I heard someone say. I frowned before realizing that I'd been butt dialed. I guessed that someone with my number must have accidentally hit their phone and dialed by mistake.I was about to hang up when I heard someone else speak. And this time, the voice was familiar.

" _Here you go."_ I stood there gaping. That was Douglas' voice. Somewhat evil, MIA Douglas!  _"Have a nice day."_

" _Thanks."_ That was the customer again.  _"The food here at Central Park is amazing."_

I hung the phone up then, but didn't move. Douglas was working in Central Park. I knew where Douglas was. After the last Krane incident, he'd just disappeared off the map. No one knew where he was.

"Well, that was interesting." I commented to myself as I headed for the check out and bought the clothes, along with a marker set and a few teddy bears. Leo would definitely be interested in this information.

On the way back to the mansion, I contemplated stopping by the park, just to see where Douglas was. But what was going on at the house was more important, so I decided against it. Besides, I could just go tomorrow.

When I finally made my way back up to the Davenport's front door, I found Leo sitting on the steps, glaring at the ground. Before I could ask what he was doing, he cut me off. "They locked me out." He complained. I face palmed.

"You were seriously outsmarted by a bunch of little kids?" I demanded. He didn't answer, but glared at me. "Have you asked them to let you in?"

"No, I didn't think of that." Leo replied sarcastically. I rolled my eyes, grabbed the shopping bags and knocked on the front door.

"Adam, Bree, Chase? Can you let me in pretty please?" I asked. The door unlocked and Bree opened it seconds later. Leo just stared at me in shock. "You have to say please, Leo." I laughed at his very annoyed expression as I walked in. I was immediately surrounded by the three children.

"Did you bring us anything?" Adam asked me, eyes wide. I laughed and sat down in the middle of the three, the bag in my lap. I glanced at the knocked over couch and broken coffee table, but decided not to comment on it. At least, not right now.

"Well, let's see about that, shall we?" I mused, looking through the bag. "I think I did."

"Gimme, gimme!" Bree demanded, trying to look through the bag. I stopped her with a stern look.

"Gimme, gimme never gets." I recited an old rhyme my dad used to say to me. "And Adam's getting his present first."

"Yay!" The young boy exclaimed, a delighted grin on his face. I pulled out his red PJs and a dark brown teddy bear. "Thank you, Calla!"

"Now it's your turn Bree." I told the girl, pulling out her yellow night gown and red teddy bear. She smiled took them, adding a polite thank you.

"Wha' abou' me?" Chase questioned, looking slightly upset. I smiled at the adorable expression on his face.

"Well, I saved the best for last." That made him giggle. "Here you go."

He grinned at me, taking the brown teddy bear and the blue PJs from me. At the same time, Leo groaned in annoyance. I glanced over my shoulder at him to see him playing with his phone.

"They took my phone and messed with it!" He complained. I sighed and held out my hand.

"Let me." I offered. He handed it to me just as Adam looked at me expectantly.

"Chase is going to need help getting dressed." He told me. "I don't because I'm a big boy, but he's a small boy and needs help."

"Leo?" I asked, glancing at him. He sighed.

"Come on." Chase followed him into the other room while I figured out Leo's phone. Suddenly, my phone rang. I answered it without looking.

"Mr. Davenport?" I asked hopefully, pressing the phone up to my ear as I pulled the package of markers out from the bag. It was one of those packs that were wrapped in plastic and nearly impossible to open.

" _Please, I'm not that old."_ My brother replied. I smiled at the sound of his voice.

"Hey Jay, what's up?" I asked curiously. "How was your game?"

" _It went well. Is Bree there? She's not answering her phone."_  Something was wrong. I knew that right off the bat. Jaden was distracted by something and it was clear that something was bothering him.

"Um," I glanced at Bree, who was currently trying to balance her teddy bear on Glitch's back. She had already gotten dressed while Adam left the room to change. "Don't overreact, but I may have turned your girlfriend into a four year old."

" _Oh, okay. That's…you did what?"_  He demanded. I sighed and tried to open the crayon package.

"It's a long story, but it was an accident and if it helps, I turned my boyfriend into a three year old." I offered. "Besides, I'm sure Mr. Davenport will be able to fix them when he gets back from Seaford."

" _Aright, tell her to call me when she can."_  He told me. I stopped him before he could hang up.

"Jaden, what's wrong?" I questioned, concerned.

" _Nothing."_  He assured me. I rolled my eyes at that pathetic lie, frowning as I continued to struggle with the marker package.

"Jaden…" I warned. He sighed.

" _I'll tell you when I get home. I promise."_  He said just as Adam walked back into the room and up to me.

"I can help with the markers." He offered, pointing at the package I was holding in my hands. Without waiting for a reply, he shot his laser vision at the top of it and it caught fire. I dropped it in surprise and the fire spread to the carpet.

"Holy-" I stopped myself from swearing in front of the child. "Jaden, I gotta go."

" _What happened?"_  He demanded as I started to stamp the fire out. After a few seconds, I managed to rid the carpet and the package of the flames, leaving only a burnt plastic package and a black stain.

"Oh yeah. Just a small fire. I'll see you tomorrow night, if Adam doesn't kill all of us." I hung up, then picked up the package. Everything in it had been either burned or crushed beyond use. "Well, that was a waste of five bucks."

"I'm sorry." Adam apologized, lip quivering. I gave him a reassuring smile.

"It's okay, Adam. It was an accident. But let's not use anymore laser, shall we?" I suggested. He nodded, cheering up a bit. I grabbed a pillow from the overturned couch and placed it on top of the burnt area of the carpet. Hopefully, Tasha wouldn't notice. I tossed the package into the garbage. Leo walked in then, Chase running over to his brother and sister with his teddy bear in his hands.

"Why do I smell smoke?" Leo asked me, his nose crinkled up at the scent.

"Laser vision." I explained. I gestured at the living room. "What happened to the couch and coffee table?"

"Super strength." He replied.

"Ah." I nodded. "Okay, so we need to fix the couch and clean up the coffee table. But let's wait until they're asleep. Just in case they make more a mess."

"Good idea." Leo agreed. "By the way, who called?"

"Jaden, he was looking for Bree." I explained. "Speaking of phone calls, you won't guess who butt dialed me."

"Who?" He asked, frowning. I grabbed an apple out of the fruit bowl and took a bite.

"Douglas." I replied, swallowing. Leo stared at me.

"He called you?" he demanded.

"He butt dialed me. Although, why he has my number is beyond me." I shrugged. "I heard him and some guy talking. He's working at some baba ganoush stand in Central Park."

"Hmm…should we go talk to him?" Leo wondered. "I mean, he did try and save all of us from Krane."

"No, he tried to save Adam, Bree, and Chase from Krane." I corrected. "But honestly, I think just him trying to save them means something."

"Yeah, you're probably right." He agreed. He glanced at the clock. "It's almost ten."

"Right. Adam, Bree, Chase!" I called. All three kids looked at me. "It's time for bed!"

"Awww!" A collective groan came from the children.

"Sorry guys, but it's past your bedtime. So let's all go to your capsules." I gestured at the elevator. After a few more minutes of complaining, they finally stumbled into the elevator. Leo and I stepped in with them and I hit the button that would bring us down to the lab. We headed into the lab, but instead of going to their capsules, they sat down in the center of the room and looked at Leo and I expectantly. "Bed time."

"Story time!" Bree objected. "Mister D always reads us a story before bed!"

"He actually read to them?" I looked at Leo, who shrugged. Well, that took me by surprise. I couldn't really imagine Mr. Davenport sitting down every night to read a fairy tale to his kids. "Alright then, what should I read?" I asked, picking up the IPad. I could get an online picture book downloaded easily.

"Wobin Hood!" "Three Little Pigs!" "Cinderella!" They called. I decided to go with Chase's choice.

"Robin Hood it is." I quickly searched up an online version of the story and sat down next to them. Immediately, Chase climbed into my lap to look at the pictures while Adam and Bree scrambled to either side of me. I started reading to them, showing them all the pictures. I didn't look up at Leo, but I knew instinctively that he was video taping.

"If you post that, I'll end you." I warned him as I pressed the button that would change the page.

"But it's cute!" Leo objected. I rolled my eyes, but didn't object as I finished the story. By the time I was done, Chase had already fallen asleep and his siblings weren't that far from drifting off either.

"Alright, now it's bed time." Leo and I ushered the children into the capsules and I lay Chase down in his. We waited a few minutes to make sure they actually went to bed, then headed upstairs.

"Today is just bizarre." I muttered as Leo and I pushed the couch back into its normal position. He nodded and sat down on the couch. I followed his lead, sinking into the soft cushions.

"This is like some messed up dream." He agreed. He glanced at me. "At least you know what you're doing."

"I like kids. I want to have some when I'm an adult." I commented tiredly. Leo smirked.

"Mini-Callas or Mini-Chases?" he asked. I laughed and got up.

"Doesn't really matter to me, as long as they have Chase's eyes." I replied with a yawn. "I'm going to bed."

"Night Calla." Leo called after me.

"Good night Leo." I replied, walking into the guest room. I climbed into the bed, but checked my phone one last time. Still nothing. Sighing, I sent Mr. Davenport a text.

** To: Mr. Davenport **

** Come home ASAP, we have a problem. Surprisingly enough, it's not Leo's fault this time. **

Hopefully, Davenport and Tasha would be back by time we got up tomorrow morning.

** Xxx **

Knock, knock, knock.

I groaned and rolled over in bed, pulling my pillow over my head as if it could block out the knocking sound.

Knock, knock, knock.

"Wha?" I forced open my eyes and looked at the clock. 4 AM. "What?"

The door opened and three heads poked in. "Miss Cawwa?"

I frowned, trying to remember why a three year old was talking to me. The events of the past day came back to me slowly. "What are you three doing out of your capsules?" I questioned grumpily, turning the bedside lamp on.

"There were monsters!" Bree exclaimed. "Big, mean monsters!"

"They were scaring Bree and Chase, so we came up here. I pressed the buttons on the elevator." Adam smiled proudly at that. I sat up and rubbed my eyes.

"Monsters?" I repeated. Bree nodded as the three entered my room.

"Yeah, big ones! They were making a lot of noise too!" She complained.

"Could these monsters have been the different devices?" I asked. They stopped.

"No…" There was uncertainty in Adam's voice when he said that. I nodded.

"Right, okay. Let's go check out those monsters." I started to get up, but Bree sped into my bed next to me and grabbed my arm.

"Can't we just stay up here with you?" she asked.

"It's a pretty small bed-" I started to object, but folded under their pleading, puppy dog gazes. "The couch it is. Come on."

I got out of bed and headed towards the door. Bree ran over to me, grabbing one of my hands while Adam grabbed my other. Chase contented himself to taking his big sister's hand as we walked down the hall.

"Did you guys tell Leo about the monsters?" I asked, curious as to why they'd wake me up since Leo's door was closer.

"Yes." Adam replied.

"And what did he say?" I asked.

"He didn't." Bree told me. "He just threw his pillow at us."

"Of course he did." I muttered. The three kids sat down on the couch while I pulled a few blankets out of the hall closet. I gave them to the kids and sat down, knowing that I wasn't going to get any sleep for a while. Especially not once Glitch jumped up on the couch and rested his head on my lap. I petted his softly.

"Alright now?" I asked the three kids. They nodded and curled up to go to sleep. Except none of them did. Every few minutes, one of them would ask me a question, or need to go to the washroom, or try to get up to play. And I spent the night trying to calm them down while Leo was sleeping peacefully in his bed.

** Leo's POV **

I hummed cheerfully to myself as I made my way into the kitchen. I'd slept pretty well last night. I even slept in all the way to eight.

"Good morning." I greeted Calla as I walked into the living room. Adam, Bree, and Chase, all still little kids, were sleeping on the couch while Calla sat over a bowl of cereal. She glared at me.

"Why would you throw your pillow at scared little kids?" she questioned, pointing her spoon at me threateningly.

"Because they woke me up at 4 AM." I replied. "How would you react?"

"I'd get out of bed and make sure they went back to sleep. Which is what I did, except they only fell asleep an hour ago!" she hissed at me. I gulped nervously. Although a spoon wasn't usually considered dangerous, Calla could make anything a weapon in her hands.

"Sorry. I didn't think they'd wake you up." I apologized. She rolled her eyes.

"Idiot." She muttered. "Oh, and Davenport texted me back. He said he'll be back by nine."

"Thank God." I muttered. I sniffed the air. "It still smells like smoke in here."

Calla nodded. "Yeah, I know. I put the fire out by stamping it out, but it's hard to get the smell of smoke out of the carpet." Suddenly, a tired voice dragged us out of our quiet conversation.

"Mornin'." Adam grumbled walking over to us and pulling himself up on a stool. Bree and Chase were both slowly getting up as well. "I'm hungry."

"What do you want?" I asked, getting a bowl. All three bionic children looked at us, confused.

"Food pellets." They replied. I mentally face palmed. Of course they would want food pellets rather than cereal.

"Right, sure." I walked to the closet and pulled out an old box of the pellets. I was really glad that they didn't expire either, so they were still edible, even after a couple of years. I was looking for another box (this one was half empty) when I heard a loud crash. I turned around to see Bree sitting in Adam's chair, and Adam sitting on the ground with a bewildered look on his face.

"Bree!" Calla scolded. Bree looked at her innocently.

"I wanted the seat." She object. Adam got up and pushed his sister out of the chair. She fell to the ground. "Hey!"

"Meanie!" he accused. She glared at him, then leapt at him at an inhuman speed. She tackled him to the ground. Adam quickly spun around and pinned her down. Calla and I rushed to pull them apart.

"He pushed me!" Bree exclaimed. Adam glared at her.

"You pushed me first!" He shouted, raising his fists in his anger. Suddenly, a plasma grenade exploded from his hand, hitting the chandelier. The chandelier fell and crashed into the glass dining table, shattering it.

"Adam!" I exclaimed, trying to stop him before another plasma grenade was shot, but it was too late. This time, his plasma grenade hit the couch. The force from the blast knocked the couch backwards, pillows flying everywhere. One of those pillows hit Chase in the face and he fell to the ground. Tears welled up in his eyes.

"Calla, Chase is about to cry." I warned. She sighed.

"You stop them from fighting, I'll deal with him." She decided, running over to the child. She had to duck to avoid another plasma grenade, but managed to pull Chase out of harm's way. I looked around at the disaster that had been caused in a matter of fifteen minutes. We were SO not going to last an hour.

** FLASHBACK OVER **

** Calla's POV **

Luckily for us, Mr. Davenport was able to reverse the damage by rearranging some of the wiring in my device. Adam, Bree, and Chase were back to their teenage selves within an hour, completely confused as to what happened. They didn't remember anything, but Leo and I took enough pictures to make fun of them with. As for the destruction to the house, Tasha and Mr. Davenport made us all split the cost for repairs. It was expensive, but at least they didn't pin it just on me and Leo.

"I can't believe you turned us into little kids." Chase commented as he played with my hair distractedly. We were all sitting on the couch (it still smelt like smoke from the burn Adam's plasma grenade gave it), waiting for my mom and Jaden to get home. Bree had tried to call him earlier, but he wasn't picking up. I had no idea what was going on with him.

"I can't believe you guys trashed the living room and the kitchen in under an hour." I replied, looking up at him. He kissed my forehead gently, a small smile on his face.

"Well, it couldn't have been that bad!" Adam objected. Leo nodded.

"Yeah, it was." He snapped. I laughed.

"No it wasn't. You guys were actually pretty adorable." I complimented. Leo looked at me.

"You're only saying that because they liked you best." He objected. I couldn't help but smirk.

"Yeah, they did." I agreed. Suddenly, my phone vibrated. I checked it and saw a text from my mom. "That's my cue. I'll see you all tomorrow."

"Bye babe." I kissed Chase before I left. I started heading out the door. "Sorry about the mess, Mr. Davenport!"

I didn't wait to hear his reply. When I got home, I found Jaden sitting on the porch, an envelope in his hands. I sat down beside him, but he hardly acknowledged me. He was too busy thinking.

That caught me by surprise. All his life, my brother had usually gone with the first thing that came to mind. If he was hungry, he didn't think about what he wanted to eat, he just grabbed the closest thing that was appetizing. He didn't get nervous ever because he never over-thought things like I sometimes tended to do. I'd never seen him look so torn about anything before. This had to be important then. Something major, life changing.

"Big brother?" I asked, concerned. Jaden looked up at the envelope, then at me. He smiled.

"Hey baby sister." He greeted. I gestured at the envelope.

"Are you going to tell me what that is, or do I have to ask Mom?" I asked, curious. He sighed.

"I won a football scholarship." He told me. My eyes widened and I clapped my hands together.

"Jaden, that's wonderful! I'm so proud of you!" I exclaimed, hugging him from the side. He sighed again and I frowned. "Why is this a bad thing?"

"It's an international scholarship." He informed me. I blinked in surprise. Oh, wow. That was big.

"Where to?" I asked hesitantly.

"Sidney, Australia." He replied, lifting his head. "It's more than 7,000 miles away."

"Whoa." I didn't really know what else to say. I could see now why he was so bothered by this. It was the opportunity of a life time. Free schooling abroad for football? That's something Jaden's always dreamed of. But if he accepted it, he'd have to leave everything behind. Me, Mom, his friends, Bree…

"What are you going to do?" I asked after several moments. He sighed and looked at me.

"I don't know. I just don't know."


	16. Three Minus Bree

** Calla's POV **

"So, has Jaden figured out what he's going to do?" Chase asked me as I sat down next to him on the bench in the school lobby. I shook my head, frowning.

"No, not yet. He's really frustrated about it too." Two days ago, Jaden had received an international scholarship. It was easily the most amazing thing that ever happened to him. The catch? He had to go study in Australia.

So many things were complicating his decision. This was the opportunity of a lifetime. It likely wouldn't come again and this was a one-time offer. But his friends, family and home were here. Not to mention, he only just started a relationship with Bree. Speaking of whom…

"So, where's Bree?" I asked, looking around. "I wanted to know how she's dealing with it."

"I don't know where she is now, but she was really upset about it before." Chase replied. "She wants Jaden to take it because it's an amazing opportunity, but at the same time, she doesn't want him to leave."

I nodded. "Yeah, I know the feeling. I can't imagine my big brother living on the other side of the planet."

"Oh, there she is." Adam offered, pointing at the office. Bree was walking towards us, a smile on her face.

"Hey, did you guys know that our school has a study-abroad program?" she asked, eyes a lit with excitement. Adam frowned at her.

"Why would I go to another country to do something I don't do here?" he questioned. We all smirked, but Bree didn't let Adam's question interrupt her train of thought. She handed us the sheets she was holding.

"Look. It says you get to spend a whole semester at a high school in Australia, and guess what! It's the same school that Jaden got a scholarship to!" She exclaimed. That explains the smile.

"So, are you going to apply?" I asked. She nodded.

"I already did!" She grinned. Leo chuckled suddenly.

"Hey, didn't Kelli Porter go last year?" he asked me. I suddenly remembered that.

"Oh yeah! She got sucker punched by a kangaroo!" I laughed. That had been an amusing story. Adam grinned.

"Well alright! I guess we're going to Australia!" He exclaimed. Bree looked at him.

"Uh, no, no, no. This is my thing. I mean, I can finally have some independence! I can study, travel, be with Jaden…" she sighed happily, clearly enjoying that fantasy. Unfortunately, Chase had to ruin it for her.

"I hate to be a wet blanket…" he began.

"No you don't." Leo cut him off. Chase stopped and looked at him before turning to Bree and continuing.

"But Mr. Davenport is never going to let you do this. You can't go on missions if you're halfway across the world." He reminded her. Bree wasn't deterred though.

"Sure I can. I mean, I haven't figured out all the details yet, but there's got to be a way to make it work." She said hopefully. Leo sighed and stood up.

"Not unless these two can unlock a new ability to make up for you not being here." He told her. Adam gasped.

"Well, maybe I can unlock an ability where I can disappear and then reappear somewhere else."

"You mean geo-leaping?" I suggested. He nodded.

"Yeah that!" He grinned. "Let me try."

He pushed his fists out, eyes closed, and let out a grunt of exertion. We watched this, hoping that no one else noticed. He opened his eyes a moment later, then glanced at us. "Did it work?"

Chase smiled. "You didn't do it long enough. Try it again, but this time more grunting."

I rolled my eyes, but Adam did as Chase said, closing his eyes and grunting even louder. Chase grabbed me by the arm and the four of us quietly snuck to Adam's other side.

Adam opened his eyes a second later, and looked around. He saw us standing on his other side, grinned and started cheering. We high-fived him, deciding to let him believe he could geo-leap for a few more minutes.

** Bree's POV **

"So, do you know what you're going to do about your scholarship?" I asked Jaden. We were at my house, sitting on the couch and playing with Glitch. Chase was messing around with his guitar, Calla working at the table next to him, and Adam and Leo were playing some video game.

"Honestly? I don't know." Jaden sighed. "Australia's so far away. Everything would be different."

"But it would be an amazing experience for you." I pointed out. Jaden raised an eyebrow at me.

"You want to try a long distance relationship?" he questioned. I smirked.

"I might have an idea where we can still be together." I murmured. Before he could question this, Mr. Davenport walked into the room.

"Hey, is there something you want to tell me?" he asked. Adam and Leo paused their video game and Adam stood up and walked over to Mr. Davenport.

"Look, we all like you, but we think Tasha could have done better." He declared before heading into the kitchen. Mr. Davenport ignored him and looked down at me.

"I just got a phone call that said you've been accepted to study in Australia?" Mr. Davenport looked at me for an explanation. Jaden's eyes widened.

"What?" he gasped in disbelief. "You're going to Australia too?"

I smiled back at him, then looked at Mr. Davenport. "Did they mention what day I'm leaving?"

He rolled his eyes. "You're not going." He informed me.

"Why?" I demanded, jumping to my feet. Glitch whimpered at the sudden movement and ran off into another room.

"Come on Bree, it was obvious." Chase commented, putting his guitar down. "Even Adam saw that one coming."

Adam didn't even look up as he rummaged through the fridge. "No idea what you're talking about, already moved onto cold cuts."

Mr. Davenport ignored them. "You can't abandon the team." He told me. "What if Adam and Chase picked up and left for a month?"

"Then I'd have one less reason to go to Australia." I replied. Both boys looked at me, insulted. "And I wouldn't just be abandoning you guys!"

"So what would you do if they needed you for a mission?" Leo questioned. I gestured at Calla.

"She's got that one figured out." I replied. Calla looked up from the small device she was working on.

"Not quite." She corrected. "It's not done yet, but I've been working on a Geo-Leaping bracelet. When it's done, the wearer should be able to teleport anywhere they want."

"Where'd you get that idea?" Jaden questioned. Calla gestured at my brother.

"Adam." She replied. Mr. Davenport looked at her, then back at me.

"Although that would help, that's not the only issue." He told me. "What about your bionics, your training? Your capsule?"

"Mr. Davenport, this is really important to me." I said. I could tell, however, that he wasn't interested in having this conversation. "Can't we at least discuss it?"

"We just did." He snapped. "You're not studying abroad, end of conversation."

He walked away without another word. I glared at him as he went. "This is so unfair!" I exclaimed. Adam smiled at me reassuringly.

"Don't worry Bree, I'll get you to Australia." Adam took my hand, then crouched down and made a grunting noise, as if he was trying to Geo-Leap again. I pulled my hand away from his, pretty upset.

Suddenly, a pair of hands was pulling me back to the couch. Jaden put his arm around me, and started whispering in my ear. "You know, we could try a long distance relationship."

I looked at him. "You think that's going to work for us?"

Jaden nodded eagerly. "Yeah, totally. We could set up Skype, text every day. And since the time difference between here and Australia is exactly a day, we won't have to wake each other up at three am just to say hi."

I laughed at that, glad that we were going to try and make this work. But Mr. Davenport's attitude was still bothering me. Why was he always trying to control my life like that?

** Calla's POV **

"Hey Leo." I greeted as the younger boy walked into the lab. He grinned at me and sat down at his desk, pulling out some tools and some sort of device.

"Hey Calla, are you still working on that Geo-Leap bracelet?" he asked. I shook my head.

"I finished that hours ago. This is something way cooler." I replied. Leo raised an eyebrow at that, curious. "Check it out."

He walked over to my desk and took a look at the designs on my computer screen. "You remember those bionic upgrades I was working on before Douglas blew up the lab, right?"

"Yeah, but you said they weren't finished." He replied. I grinned.

"Well, they are now. Well, three of them are." I replied. "I was thinking that we should give Bree pyrokinesis since she really needs something offensive. In a small, enclosed space her superspeed's not going to be too much help to her. Chase can have the telepathy because it works well with his big brain and that leaves the invisibility for Adam."

Leo nodded, then gave me a wary look. "You really want to give Adam invisibility?"

I thought about it. "Yeah…maybe I should think of something else."

"Good idea." Leo agreed, going back to his seat. I looked over at the device in his hands.

"So, what are you working on?" I asked curiously. He held the device up so I could see it better. It looked like a small pill.

"I'm repurposing one of Big D's old projects to impress him with my tech skills." He explained. Suddenly, Eddy popped up on the screen behind Leo.

"I hear the midget is failing with Davenport's ideas." Eddy declared. I bit back a laugh as Leo glared at him. After a moment, Leo turned back to me, having decided to ignore Eddy.

"He created a neuro-transmitter to help diagnose medical symptoms." He continued. He glanced at Eddy. "The software is based on your smart home system."

"Well, we know you're good at one thing." The smart home system commented. "Stealing."

"It's really cool!" Leo exclaimed. "You just swallow this pill and it attaches to your cerebral cortex. Then it diagnoses the problem and sends the report to my computer."

"Wow!" Eddy exclaimed sarcastically. "Who needs doctors when they have a fifteen year old crackpot with a magic pill?"

I bit back a laugh. "Uh, Leo? As much I applaud your enthusiasm, I would leave the medical stuff to the doctors. You don't see me trying to cure the common cold or anything, do you?" I questioned. I looked over his shoulder as Tasha walked down the hall. "And speaking of the common cold, how are you feeling Tasha?"

The poor woman looked terrible, to be honest. She sighed. "I think this cold is getting worse."

Leo's eyes lit up. "Fantastic." Tasha and I just stared at him. "How would you like to try out my newest invention, the Smart Body System?"

Tasha didn't seem to like the idea. "Oh, no. I'm not a guinea pig."

Eddy chuckled. "No, you're a different kind of-"

"Shut it!" Tasha snapped, shutting him up. Leo glanced at Eddy, then at Tasha.

"Oh, come on Mom. This," he held up the pill, "will let you know if this is just a cold or something more serious."

"Leo, I don't want some weird gadget floating around inside my body. You don't know anything about medical stuff."

"Well, I don't have to. Big D made the technology." Leo replied. "It'll only take a few hours to work, trust me. It's totally safe."

Tasha took the pill from him and turned it over in her hands. "I don't, Leo."

"Okay, I get it. You don't believe in me." He declared. Tasha smiled at him.

"Thanks for understanding, sweetie." She said. Leo looked seriously offended.

"MOM!" He exclaimed. She sighed.

"Okay, fine." She put the pill in her mouth and swallowed it whole. Leo grinned.

"Oh, and by law, I'm obliged to inform you of the possible side effects: headache, nausea, hair loss, random twitching…you know what?" He reached behind him, grabbed a large book and placed it in his mother's hands. "It'll just be faster if you read them."

He walked away cheerfully while Tasha looked at the book fearfully. She glanced at me. "He was…joking about the random twitching, right?"

I shrugged. "Maybe, but probably not. But I don't think that death's a possible side effect, if that helps." I offered before going back to my work.

** Bree's POV **

I grinned, skipping into the living room. It was rather late, both Calla and Jaden having gone home hours ago. Adam was watching TV, Leo was AWOL, Chase was working on homework, or Mr. Davenport was making himself a cup of tea in the kitchen. "Hey guys!" I exclaimed. "Guess who got invited to the Imagine Dragons concert tonight?"

"Oh! Brandon Delaney?" Adam guessed. I should really stop asking him to guess things.

"Me!" I replied. "Kaitlin doesn't want to go alone because she's totally devastated!"

"Why is she devastated?" Chase asked, concerned.

"Her boyfriend dumped her! Isn't it awesome?" I shouted, doing a little dance. Mr. Davenport walked over to me.

"Bree, I'm sorry, but you can't go." He told me, absolutely ruining my good mood. "I have to extract your bionic chips tonight for a critical performance modification."

"Can't we do that tomorrow?" I begged.

"No, I'm gone all day with a new product launch." He informed me before sighing. "Look, I wish I could go to the concert too, I get the whole rock and roll thing."

"People who get the rock and roll thing, don't say 'I get the rock and roll thing'." Chase pointed out. We ignored him.

"Come on, Mr. Davenport! Can't I just-" I tried to object, only to be shot down.

"I'm sorry Bree, but you can't go." He told me before walking away. The room was strangely silent as my brothers waited for my reaction.

"Being bionic is ruining my life!" I exclaimed, furious. "I can't go to the concert, I can't go to Australia, I can't do anything!"

"You can go get me some juice." Adam offered unhelpfully.

I sighed and made up my mind. "No. You know what? I don't care." I spun around and headed for the door. "I am going to that concert!"

I heard Chase calling after me as I left, but I ignored him, slamming the door to make a point. I was done letting Mr. Davenport tell me what I can and can not do.

** Calla's POV **

"I can't believe you're actually leaving." I sighed, reaching for some popcorn. Jaden and I were sitting on either ends of the couch in the family room, watching the new movie How To Build a Better Boy.

"I can't pass this up. Not even for Bree." Jaden sighed. I smiled before tossing a piece of popcorn at him. I was aiming for his open mouth, but instead hit him in the forehead.

"I'll give you my old laptop to use for Skype and email stuff." I offered. "Remember? It's the backup laptop that didn't blow up with the rest of the lab."

"Oh yeah. Thanks." Jaden grinned at me. I smirked and continued.

"By the way, can I do stuff to your bedroom while you're gone?" I asked casually. He looked at me suspiciously.

"Like what?" he questioned. I shrugged.

"I don't know. I'm thinking about turning it into an office or something so I can take some of my work home with me." I replied. Jaden considered it.

"You can't paint anything pink." He instructed. I nodded and tossed another piece of popcorn, missing his head entirely.

"You have terrible aim." Jaden commented. I was about to object when my phone got a text. I stopped attacking my brother with popcorn long enough to check it.

** From: Leo **

** Help me. Eddy is inside my mother. **

I didn't even bother to question it or text him back; I mean, with the amount of trouble Leo gets into on a daily basis, nothing surprised me anymore.

I picked up a final piece of popcorn. "I'm getting this one in." I declared before tossing it. It landed with perfect accuracy, right in Jaden's pie hole.

He swallowed it and looked at me. "Chase?"

I shook my head. "No, Leo. He needs my help." I started to get up, but then I realized that I didn't want to leave the very comfy, very soft couch. "I'll help him tomorrow."

** Bree's POV **

This was easily the most embarrassing day of my life. Not only did my idiot brothers rat me out, Mr. Davenport came to the concert looking for me. Then he just had to jump on stage in front of everyone!

"I cannot believe you went to the concert when I specifically told you not to." He shouted as we stormed down into the lab.

"I cannot believe you jumped on stage and begged every member of the band to sign your T-shirt!" I argued back. Mr. Davenport glanced at Adam and Chase.

"I most certainly did not." He told them, before turning to me. "I got all of them, didn't I?"

I raised an eyebrow at him and he got back to shouting at me. "Look, that's beside the point. You are in big trouble."

I glared at my brothers. "Thanks for selling me out guys!"

"You have no idea what we went through! He grilled us!" Adam objected. Mr. Davenport looked confused.

"I said 'Where's Bree?'." He reminded him.

"At the concert." Adam replied instantly. "Oh man! He got me again!"

I stared at him, wondering how it was possible for any living thing to be so stupid.

Mr. Davenport looked at me sternly. "Because of you, we are three hours behind. Now the modification is going to take all night." He gestured at my capsule. "Go get in your capsule so I can extract your chip."

I bit back a complaint and did as he asked. "I don't know what has gotten into you lately. You can't just do whatever you want whenever you want." He told me. I sighed.

"Trust me; you have made that abundantly clear. My life is not my own." I replied. The lights in my capsule turned on then and I winced as I felt the bionic chip being pulled from my neck.

Eventually, the lights stopped. I took the chip from the extractor and stepped out of the capsule and placed in Mr. Davenport's hand. He put it down on the computer consol next to him. "All I want is a little control over what I do." I told him, trying to continue this discussion.

"While you're part of a team, that's not going to happen." Mr. Davenport replied.

"So that means I have to give up my entire life because of it?" I demanded. Mr. Davenport looked at me like I was crazy.

"Yeah." He replied, walking over to the other computer. Suddenly, I had a thought. It was stupid and reckless and idiotic, but as far as I could see, it was my only option.

"Well, if being bionic is going to stop me from having the life that I want, I don't want to be bionic anymore!" I reached for the nearest object, a heavy canister. Chase looked at me, following my train of thought.

"Bree, what are you doing?" he was trying to make me think about my decision. But if I thought about it any longer, I wouldn't have the guts to do it. "I'm getting my freedom."

And with that, I gripped the canister and smashed it down on the chip. "Bree, stop!" "No!" "Don't!" They all shouted, but it was too late.

The chip was in pieces, completely destroyed. Everyone stared at it in shock and horror as I took a shaky breath. I did it. I really did it.

After a moment, Mr. Davenport finally got over his shock enough to speak. "What did you do?" he demanded.

"Well she smashed-" Adam started to explain, but was cut off.

"I know what she did!" Mr. Davenport shouted. He looked back at me. "How could you do that?"

"Well she picked up that-" Adam tried again.

"I got it!" Mr. Davenport yelled. He sighed and looked back down at the chip, gathering the tiny, cracked pieces in his hands. "You have no idea what you've done."

"I know exactly what I've done." I replied, head held high.

"Ooh." Chase and Adam murmured in that somebody's-in-trouble tone of theirs.

"Then you know you've made the biggest mistake of your life." Mr. Davenport countered.

"Ooh." Adam and Chase said, even louder this time.

"Help me find the rest of your chip so I can try to fix it." Mr. Davenport ordered. I shook my head, not moving.

"You know what? No." I replied.

"Ooh!" Adam and Chase, again.

"Excuse me?" Mr. Davenport demanded. But I didn't waver under his glare.

"I said no." I stated calmly.

"Adam, Chase? Can you guys leave us for a moment?" Mr. Davenport's eyes didn't leave my face as he spoke. "I need to speak to Bree alone."

"No, stay." I offered before looking at Mr. Davenport. "There's nothing left to talk about."

And with that, I walked upstairs, head held high. I was NOT going to regret this decision.

** Chase's POV **

We all watched in silence as Bree walked away. I looked at Mr. Davenport. "Don't worry, Mr. Davenport." I assured him. "I'll go talk to her."

To my surprise, he shook his head. "No. If she doesn't want her bionic abilities, she's off the team." He decided, walking away.

** Calla's POV **

When I walked into the Davenport household the next morning, I was greeted by a horrific sight. Tasha was standing in front of Leo, wearing…I can't even describe it. It looked like she just threw on whatever she could. As for her face, it was covered in lipstick and her hair poked out at random spots.

"Oh my god, what did I just walk into?" I questioned. Tasha looked at me.

"If it isn't nerd number 2." She said in Eddy's voice. "Doesn't Tasha look great?"

"Um…" I looked at Leo, but he was just as shocked as I was. Luckily, Eddy didn't wait for my answer.

"Being human is awesome! Not only can I get sweet revenge on Tasha, but I can also do this!" Eddy grabbed Leo's head and started giving him a noogie.

"Eddy, sit!" I ordered. For once, he did as he was told, jumping up onto the counter.

"You need to act normal." Leo instructed. "Act like my mom."

"So, like an insufferable nag? Got it." Eddy nodded. Suddenly, Adam walked into the room.

"Hey guys. Calla, when did you get here?" He asked. Leo and I looked at Eddy, then at Adam.

"Hey Adam!" We rushed to distract him. It suddenly occurred to me that I had no idea why I was helping Leo or what exactly he did. "I just got here. How are you?"

Adam frowned at my eagerness, but didn't comment on it. "Well, my word of the day calendar says 'elaborate' so I guess I'm elaborate."

I tried not to laugh at the irony. Before either Leo or I could say something, Adam looked over our shoulders. "Tasha?"

Leo and I turned to see Eddy holding a bottle of what I think was salad dressing. He laughed. "You look great." Adam complimented. Eddy grinned and started to open the dressing bottle.

"Whoa, Mom. You can't have A Thousand Island Dressing. It makes you sick." Leo reminded him. He nodded.

"Violently." He agreed before drinking straight from the bottle. Even Adam found that disgusting. Eddy finished off the bottle in a few seconds, then slammed it down on the table. "Delicious."

We stared at him, then suddenly, his hand reached for his stomach. Then, he ran to the sink and started losing his lunch. We watched in silent disgust.

"Hey Leo?" Adam asked. "What's going on?"

"Yeah, I'd like to know that too." I agreed. Leo sighed.

"Alright, it's a long story but I made a pill, my mom took it, and now Eddy's trapped inside her body." He explained. Adam nodded after a second.

"Meh, it happens." He decided. I grabbed Leo's arm.

"Adam, we have to run down to the lab to fix this. Just stay here and don't let him out of your sight, got it?" I asked. He nodded.

"Okay." Leo and I ran downstairs to the lab. Leo began working on the solution to his problem, while I started going through the original software to find any flaws. Suddenly, Bree came skipping down to the hall.

"Leo, I just had the most awesome day!" she exclaimed, looking at her step-brother. Unfortunately, said boy was busy trying to fix his Tasha mistake. "Now that I don't have bionics, I can do whatever I want whenever I want."

"Kinda busy here. Can I get a rain check on caring?" Leo asked, not looking up. Bree ignored him.

"I'm just so glad to have the chance to know what it feels like to be normal. This morning I was supposed to meet Kaitlin. I was an hour late!" Bree continued, sounding proud of herself. "She's not talking to me. It's awesome!"

She looked at Leo for some sort of comment. He spared her a glance. "It's a little bit early to cash in that rain check."

Suddenly, Adam came strolling into the lab. "Hey Calla? Did you tell me to keep Tasha here or let her go out?" he asked, sounding confused. Leo and I froze, then looked at him.

"Keep her here." I said again. Adam sighed.

"Could have gone either way." He said. Leo's eyes widened and he ran for the elevator. I was about to follow him when Mr. Davenport walked back into the room, followed by Chase.

"Heads up, I just got a mission alert. There's a five alarm fire at a chemical plant and the response teams can't contain it. Suit up." Mr. Davenport ordered. The boys ran for their capsule and I sat myself down at my computer, bringing up a satellite feed of the chemical plant in question. "We have to get ahead of this thing before it spreads." Davenport continued, putting on his jacket.

"Chase, you'll want to use your scanners to find anyone who's trapped inside." I instructed, going over the blue prints of the building. "Adam, lock down the compound while he's rescuing them."

"I'll come along and try to help anyway I can." Mr. Davenport told them, putting on an ugly pair of white sunglasses. Together, with the jacket, it looked terrible.

"You can come on the mission, but not dressed like that." Chase decided.

"Yeah, the fire's already a tragedy. Don't make it worse." Adam agreed.

"Just go!" Mr. Davenport ordered. The boys ran out the door.

"What about me? What can I do?" Bree asked suddenly. Mr. Davenport stopped and sighed, taking off his sunglasses.

"Nothing. You're not on the team anymore." He informed her before running after Adam and Chase. Bree watched them go, obviously upset.

"Hey, it'll be fine." I assured her. She nodded, sitting down in the chair next to me.

"Yeah, I'm sure you're right." She agreed softly.

** Bree's POV **

I tapped my foot impatiently against the floor, waiting for my brothers and Mr. Davenport to come back from the mission. It was taking a long time, too long in my opinion.

For the first couple of hours, Calla tried to cheer me up. She had told me embarrassing stories about her brother, offered to play virtual ping pong with me, and we even watched Leo on the security cameras. From what we could tell, Eddy (who was apparently in control of Tasha's body) had left the house and had completely ruined Tasha's reputation. That was amusing for about ten minutes, but then we both lost interest.

"They should be back by now, right?" I asked, looking at Calla. She calmly typed away at her computer.

"They'll be back soon, Bree." She assured me. I glared at her.

"You've been saying that for the past hour." I complained. She nodded.

"Yes, and you've been annoying me for the past hour, so we're even." She replied, looking up. She suddenly smiled. "Oh, and look behind you."

I turned around to see Mr. Davenport walking up behind me. "You're back." I couldn't help the relieved smile. "Where are Adam and Chase?"

"They're putting their gear away." Mr. Davenport replied, his tone short.

"Oh, I was starting to get worried. You guys were gone forever." I commented. "Let me guess: Adam tried to transport you guys home by closing his eyes and grunting?"

Mr. Davenport wasn't amused by the joke. "Actually, Adam was quite helpful." He started to walk away as my brothers entered the room.

"Hey guys, how was the…mission?" I trailed off slightly at the looks on their faces. It wasn't just the anger that bothered me. They were covered in dust and soot.

"It was terrible." Adam complained. "You know, I was thinking about having my next birthday at a chemical plant, but now I just…I just don't know."

Calla walked up behind me, carrying a couple of wet cloths. She handed one to Adam. "Nice job." She commented before taking Chase's hand and pulling him to the couch. I sat down at her desk and watched as they had a conversation. And although they were obviously trying to be quiet, I could hear them perfectly.

"How bad was it?" Calla asked, handing him the cloth. He began to clean the soot off his face.

"We rescued everyone, but the mission took twice as long. We barely made it our alive." He told her. I winced at those words, especially since he was glaring at me the entire time he spoke.

"Chase…" Calla murmured. I stood up, interrupting her.

"I'm sure it wouldn't have been much better if I'd been there." I commented. Chase stood up.

"Actually, it would have. If you had been there, your superspeed could have created a vortex that would have put out the fire instantly." He told me. "Congratulations Bree. I hope that being normal was worth it."

He kissed Calla's forehead before heading to his capsule. "I'm going to bed." I heard him say to Mr. Davenport before closing the door. Adam followed suit.

"Don't worry about it Bree." Calla told me before heading upstairs herself. I sat back down in the chair, left alone with nothing but my thoughts.

** Calla's POV **

"Mr. Davenport?" I called, running after him. I caught up to him before the elevator doors closed.

"Yes?" he asked, obviously tired.

"She feels bad about what she did." I commented, hitting the up button. He nodded.

"I know." He agreed.

"You can't kick her off the team permanently." I told him. He nodded again.

"I know." He pulled a box out of his pocket and handed it to me. I opened it and found several small, black and blue shards on the inside. I smiled.

"This is what's left of her chip." I realized, handing it back to him.

"I'm going to try and rebuild it as soon as she apologizes." He told me. I nodded.

"So this is more of a guilt thing than anything else?" I guessed. He nodded.

"Yep." He agreed. The elevator doors opened and we stepped onto the main floor. "Tasha, you would not believe the day I've had…"

He stopped, looking at Tasha. She was still looking exactly like she did early, which was to say, crazy. "Yours looks like it was worse." He commented. I frowned at Leo.

"Leo, why are you holding a razor?" I question. He looked down at it.

"Long story. We gotta go." He declared. Mr. Davenport and grabbed Eddy's arm.

"Where are you going? Can't I at least get a goodbye kiss?"

Eddy pressed himself against the door. "You wish!" he shouted. "Get away from me, peewee!"

Mr. Davenport stopped, then looked at Leo. "Was that Eddy's voice?" he asked, sounding much calmer than I expected.

"No." "Maybe." "You betcha!" We all said. Eddy began dancing around, laughing.

"Leo, what did you do?" Mr. Davenport demanded, absolutely furious. Leo smiled guiltily.

"I put Eddy into a pill and gave it to my mom and now he's controlling her body but I also got a B in French so let's focus on that!" He grinned. Mr. Davenport looked at Eddy, horrified.

"Tasha, are you in there?" He begged. There was a moment of silence.

"Yes, and I only married you for your money so dump me now." Eddy said. Mr. Davenport was not amused.

"Eddy!" he scolded. Eddy laughed.

"Oh relax! The old bag is fine." Eddy assured him. "But not for long! Face plant!"

Eddy leapt forward, landing on his face. "How could you do this Leo?" Mr. Davenport questioned.

"Are you really that surprised?" Leo countered. Eddy got up and started towards the stairs.

"I'm going to go jump off the roof!" He announced. We raced to stop him before he killed Tasha.

** Xxx **

We finally managed to keep Eddy still, Leo and I forcing him to sit on the couch. Mr. Davenport had a large device in his hands. "This is my nasal extractor." He informed us.

"Why did you create a nasal extractor?" I asked, curious.

"Why does Adam keep shoving things up his nose?" Mr. Davenport answered.

"Continue." I replied. Mr. Davenport hesitated.

"Wait, this baby really packs a punch. I don't know if I can use it on her." He worried. Leo pulled the mask part of it out of Davenport's hands.

"I can." He shoved it onto Eddy's mouth, despite his objections. Mr. Davenport turned it on and Leo and I struggled to keep Eddy from struggling. Eventually, the pill flew into the nasal extractor and out of Tasha. "Yes!" Leo grinned.

Tasha stood up and looked at her apparel while we looked at her, guilt written all over our faces. "Tasha?" Mr. Davenport checked.

"What happened?" she demanded in her own voice. She did not look happy. "Who did it?"

Leo pointed at Mr. Davenport, Mr. Davenport pointed at Leo and I just stepped away from them so as to not be associated as a troublemaker.

Tasha suddenly reached into her hood and pulled out what looked like a chunk of meat. "And why is there raw meat in my hood?"

None of us had an answer for that, but Eddy popped up on the screen behind us. "That's nothing. Just wait until you see what's in your purse."

Tasha let out a scream of frustration and glared at Eddy.

** Bree's POV **

I found my brothers in the lab the next day, working on something. Well, Chase was working. Adam was pressing random buttons to mess him up.

"You can probably guess why I'm here." I started. Chase turned around to give me a cold glare, but Adam just had a scared look on his face.

"Chase and I didn't make it out of the fire and we're ghosts?" he guessed. I was about to question him, then I saw the smirk on his face and realized it was a joke.

"I owe you guys an apology." I started. Adam cut me off.

"Yeah, well you should have apologized when we were alive." He told me, continuing his joke. I rolled my eyes and continued.

"Look. I just wanted some freedom from being bionic. And I never meant to put you guys in danger." I told them.

"Well you did." Chase pointed out.

"I know. I was just thinking about me, instead of us. We're a family, and I was being selfish and I'm really sorry." I apologized. "I want back in."

Chase smiled. "Good." He looked at Adam.

"Whoa, wait a minute. We got to vote. Hands up." He ordered. "I'm looking for a three-fifths majority and someone to calculate it."

"Adam, we don't have to vote." Chase told him.

"Yeah." He agreed before turning to me. "Get out!"

"What?" I asked, confused. Adam grinned.

"Yeah, yeah. Family, family, I got it." He spread out his arms. "Bring it in." he said, pulling both of us into a hug.

"What's going on?" I looked over my brothers' shoulder and saw Mr. Davenport standing there. I pulled away from the hug and walked over to him.

"Mr. Davenport, I messed up. And I'm sorry." I told him. "I'm ready to be bionic again."

"Well, I'm glad you feel that way, but I don't think I can do that." He told me. I frowned, confused.

"What do you mean?" Chase asked. "She apologized and she wants back in."

Mr. Davenport sighed. "I didn't create your chip, my brother did. I've tried fixing what was left of the old one, but I can't. And I don't know how to duplicate it."

I looked at him, trying to deny what he was telling me. "What are you saying?"

Mr. Davenport sighed. "I don't know if you'll ever be bionic again."


	17. Which Father Knows Best

** Calla's POV **

"Hey, how's the chip rebuilding going?" I yawned, walking into the lab. Mr. Davenport glared at me. I gulped. "Sorry I asked?"

"Long night?" Chase asked as I walked over to him. I dropped my bulging backpack under the desk and sat down.

"We had to drive Jaden to the airport, and then mom didn't want to leave until after his plane did because she's going to miss her 'baby boy' so much." When was my mother going to realize that Jaden was eighteen and therefore no longer a baby? "So seriously, how's the chip coming?"

It'd been about three days since Bree smashed her chip and we'd been working on repairing it/building a new one ever since. And nothing Mr. Davenport, Leo or I could come up with would fix it.

"Well, she smashed her chip beyond repair, so it's useless." Mr. Davenport explained, much to Bree's dismay. Then he gave her the good news. "But I've been able to replicate my brother's original chip and just like my face, it's flawless."

"Forget the chip. We need to get this dude a mirror." Leo commented, standing behind me. I smirked at him. Bree ignored him though and looked at Mr. Davenport hopefully.

"Wait, so I'm actually going to be bionic again?" she asked. Mr. Davenport smiled at her.

"Yep." He replied. Bree squeled and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" She exclaimed.

"Oh! Your chip's almost ready." Mr. Davenport announced. I glanced over at the Chip Modifier sitting on top of the computer consol. Usually, we used it for chip updates and such, but I guess it could double as a Chip Builder. It beeped, announcing that the chip was done.

"Snacks are ready." Adam announced. Mr. Davenport ran over to the Chip Modifier/Builder before Adam could stick food into it.

"For the last time, this is not a microwave. It's a Chip Modifier." He explained as he carefully took the chip out of the machine. Adam shrugged.

"Call it whatever you want; I'm still making my mini-pizzas in there." He declared. We all ignored him as Mr. Davenport handed the chip to Bree. She was grinning widely.

"Alright Bree. Hop in your capsule and get ready for your new chip." He announced, sounding just as excited as he was. She grinned and did as she was told. Davenport walked over to my desk and began typing in the commands. Leo looked at him, a hopeful look on his face.

"You know, Big D, if this works, maybe you can make a chip for me." He suggested.

"Please, your body can't handle high-fibre cereal, let alone a bionic chip." I muttered. Leo glared at me.

"Are you seriously saying that you wouldn't want to be bionic if you had the option?" He questioned. I merely shrugged and started helping Mr. Davenport put the codes into the computer.

"Honestly? I've never thought about it." I replied. I glanced up. "You're good to go Bree."

She nodded and the lights in her capsule started flashing. She got out a few seconds later, rubbing the back of her neck. "Well, how do you feel?" Mr. Davenport asked her.

"Like a piece of metal was just jammed into my neck and infused to my nervous system." Bree replied, walking towards us. Mr. Davenport grinned.

"Whoo! Success!" He cheered. He ushered Bree to the center of the room. "Okay, now give it a try. See how if it works."

Bree nodded, taking a deep breath. She started forward, but ended up running along the ceiling. She crashed to the ground a few seconds later, along with one of lights. She looked up at us, disappointment in her eyes.

"Well, you're still more useful than Chase." Adam assured her, much to my boyfriend's annoyance.

I rolled my eyes and pointed at the older boy. "Help her up!" I ordered. He nodded, ran over, and lifted Bree over his shoulder. He then carried her over to one of the seats and sat her down.

"Calla, get me the neck brace chip modifier." Mr. Davenport instructed. I nodded and ran to get it out of the storage closet. When I came back, carrying the neck brace we used for chip modification, Mr. Davenport was speaking to Bree. "You know, technically speaking, your bionics are working."

" _YOU CALL THIS WORKING_?" Bree demanded, using a voice that was far too deep to be her own. She took a deep breath and started again. This time, her voice was extremely high pitched.  _"I can't control my vocal manipulation! I can't control anything!"_

Mr. Davenport sighed, took the neck brace from me, and started attaching it to Bree's neck. "I'm so close! It just needs a few tweaks."

While Mr. Davenport worked, I saw Chase pull Adam aside. They were talking about how they were possibly going to get to missions on time. "Dude, we're in trouble if he can't fix her. We need her speed and agility for missions." Chase said.

"Well, we could replace her." Adam suggested.

"We can't replace her." Chase replied. Adam nodded.

"You're right. Let's just forget about her and move on!" He decided. "She's dead to me!"

Tears welled up in Adam's eyes. Chase sighed. "What's wrong?" Chase asked, sounding relatively annoyed.

"I miss Bree!" Adam sobbed. I bit back a giggle at the sight. Chase just patted his brother's arm, shaking his head.

"Should we tell them that you have a geo-leap bracelet?" Leo asked me quietly. I thought about it.

"Let's wait. It only works for one person right now, so only one of them will be able to use it. And besides, I'm kinda curious what they'll come up with." I replied. "If there's a mission, I'll give them the bracelet, but until then…"

"Come on, what's the worst that they can come up with?" Leo questioned. I smirked.

"I can name twelve different plausible answers to that and seven on them involve Adam and a monkey." I replied, dead serious. Leo thought about it.

"Good point." He agreed. We looked at Mr. Davenport.

"I'm not sure if this is going to work." He muttered, just loudly enough for me and Leo to hear. I didn't think he wanted Bree catching that and freaking out.

"Well, if your brother's the one who built the original chip, maybe we should just call-" I started to suggest, only to be cut off midsentence.

"No! Forget about it! I never want to see that waste of space again!" He snapped. Chase frowned.

"But if Calla's right and he's our only hope…and he's not all bad. He did save us from Krane." He pointed out. Mr. Davenport glared at him.

"Yeah, he also blew up the lab, kidnapped you, and stole all my money!" He reminded him. Adam frowned.

"All I'm hearing is adventure and excitement." He commented. Mr. Davenport rolled his eyes.

"Look, I do not need any help from Douglas. I will fix this." He announced. He pulled the neck brace off of Bree. "Give me a little credit. I happen to be a tech genius."

Bree stepped towards the middle of the room, ready to test out the new chip. I stopped her. "Wait!"

"What?" She asked, confused. I pulled my backpack out from under the desk and opened it up. A large football helmet fell out of the bag into my hands and I offered it to Bree.

"Just in case?" I asked. She considered it.

"No. This is going to work. Like Mr. Davenport said, he's a tech genius." She decided. I nodded and stepped back. She took a deep breath and started running. Unfortunately, instead of speeding forwards, she sped backwards, crashing into the elevator doors.

Adam chuckled. "Oh Mr. Davenport. You are not good at your job."

Bree stumbled back into the lab, her hair a mess. She glanced at me. "I'll take that helmet now." She requested. I tossed it to her, then glanced at Mr. Davenport.

"So, is my Douglas idea still off the table?" I asked innocently. Mr. Davenport turned to us.

"Everyone here is forbidden from talking to Douglas. He's dangerous and I don't want him getting anywhere near you guys. If I find out you've contacted him in anyway, I'll ground you four and Calla, you'll find yourself looking for a new job. Am I understood?" He questioned. We all nodded. "Good. Now get out of here and let me work."

** Xxx **

We spent hour after hour down in the lab, trying to fix Bree's chip. By time it was two in the afternoon, all of us were crabby and frustrated. Thinking that a snack might help, I headed upstairs to find something from the fridge.

"Hey Adam. Hey Chase. Hey random old lady." I greeted, walking into the kitchen. I opened the fridge door to get some of Tasha's homemade burgers (The lady may be a terrible reporter, but MAN, could she cook). Then it hit me.

I slowly closed the fridge door and looked at the living room. "Why is there an old lady in the living room?"

"Adam stole her." Chase replied, sounding somewhat frustrated with his brother's idiocy. I looked at Adam.

"It's not stealing if she thinks you're her grandson." He pointed out. I sighed, not really wanting to deal with this after five hours of working on a broken bionic chip.

"Adam, you can't just…oh whatever!" I sighed. "Just return her when you're done."

Adam gave me a thumbs up. "Gotcha."

I headed back downstairs, carrying the burgers in my hand. When I got down there, Bree was pacing around the lab impatiently, Mr. Davenport was still working, and Leo was hovering in his personal space.

"Did you try…" Leo started to suggest.

"Yes, I tried that!" Mr. Davenport cut him off. You could tell by the tone in his voice that his patience was wearing thin, that he'd gotten no sleep the night before, and that he was in desperate need of a coffee. But that didn't deter Leo from trying to help.

"Maybe…" he tried again. Mr. Davenport glared at him.

"Maybe you should stand over there so your peanut butter breath won't distract me and I could think!" He exclaimed. Leo backed off slightly and Mr. Davenport continued to work on the chip.

"Burger?" I offered. No one seemed to be hungry. Suddenly, there was a spark and Mr. Davenport jumped backwards, waving his hand to get rid of the pain.

"Ow. Damn." He cursed under his breath. We all looked at him in surprise. Mr. Davenport very rarely swore in front of us, so when he did it usually caught us off guard. He saw our stares at dropped his tools on the desk.

"I need a break." He announced. "I need a break! That's all! Just a break! Break time!"

He left the lab, still talking loudly to himself. I looked at Leo. "Hey, what's your mom's cell number? If and when he has a mental breakdown, someone should probably give her a call."

Leo gave me a look, then glanced at Bree. She looked really upset. "I've never seen him like this." She murmured.

"I have. Remember last Christmas when he gained two pounds?" Leo pointed out. I shuddered at the memory. That was a terrifying time for us all.

"Yeah, those fluffy sweaters weren't fooling anybody." I agreed. Bree didn't seem to find the memory as amusing as us though.

"I'm scared guys. What if he can't fix my chip?" She demanded. "I had a gift and I just threw it away. By destroying my chip, I destroyed our team."

I sighed. There was really only one thing we could possibly do, and if it meant getting fired, so be it. "Bree," I said seriously, "we're going to fix this."

"How?" she looked at me, hoping that I had a plan. I smiled at her reassuringly.

"Do you trust me?" I asked. She nodded. "Then don't ask any questions."

"O…kay?" she seemed confused, but didn't argue. I grabbed Leo's arm.

"Come on, Dooley. We're going on a little adventure." I started dragging him out the back entrance of the lab. He looked at me warily.

"The last time you said that we were 'going on a little adventure' we nearly got killed by a vacuum cleaner." He reminded me. I groaned loudly.

"It was not a vacuum cleaner, it was a Decipticon. We've been over this!" I exclaimed. He looked at me.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"Do you remember how Mr. Davenport forbade us from talking to Douglas?" I asked. He nodded.

"Yeah, so?" He questioned.

"We're going to go talk to Douglas. Come on." And with that, I dragged him out of the lab and towards the park.

** Xxx **

"Okay, he's got to be around here somewhere." I muttered, looking around. Leo suddenly gasped.

"There's a hotdog, kabob, and pita stand!" he said, pointing. Sure enough, there was a stand near the sidewalk, an old lady working there.

"Good eye." I jogged up to the stand. "Excuse me, m'am. We're looking for a man named Douglas. Have you seen him?"

"He's short, creepy, and has porcupine hair." Leo added helpfully. The lady gave us a strange look.

"I wouldn't call it porcupine hair." She objected. But the voice wasn't that of an old lady. It was Douglas' voice. Leo and I stared at the woman in shock. She looked around, then tapped the side of her neck. Her face flickered until Douglas' face replaced hers. "It's really more of a spiky lion's mane."

"Douglas?" Leo frowned. "You could look like anybody with that cyber mask. Why would you go with that?"

"Two reasons; it hides me from Krane and it scares the pigeons away." Douglas replied. He glanced at us as he started to clean up his cart. "So how'd you find me?"

"Well, I could make up an impressive story about a high-tech satellite search that narrowed down your exact coordinates, but the truth is, you butt dialled me." I replied. He nodded. "Speaking of which, how do you have my number?"

Douglas frowned. "I don't know."

As creepy as that was, we had business to attend to. "Look, we need your help. Bree wrecked her chip."

"She what?" Douglas demanded. "It took me perfect that thing!"

"Yeah, well it took her about three seconds to destroy it." I replied. He sighed and crossed his arms, clearly disappointed. Leo continued.

"The bigger problem is Big D can't fix it." He told Douglas, who smirked.

"Of course he can't." He laughed. "I win again. Oh, I can't wait to shove his face in this one."

"This isn't about you beating your brother!" I snapped angrily. "He doesn't even know we're here. If he finds out, I'm fired. But we had no other choice."

"Calla's right. You're the only one who can help Bree." Leo agreed. Douglas sighed.

"I wish I could, kids. But I don't even have a lab anymore." He pointed out. I sighed.

"I'll sneak you into ours while Mr. Davenport's out." I offered. Leo frowned at me. "If I'm gonna get fired, it might as well be for doing something wrong."

"I don't know." Douglas sighed. Leo looked at him, pleadingly.

"Please? Dad?" he added. Both Douglas and I stared at him.

"I'm not your dad!" Douglas exclaimed.

"But you're everyone else's dad! I thought it might work!" He defended himself. I nearly face-palmed. I seriously needed to stop bringing Leo on these mini-missions with me.

"Look, Douglas. Now is not the time for hurt egos or grudges. Bree's my future sister-in-law and I have to fix this. And she needs your help." I said, my tone leaving no room for argument.

Douglas sighed. "Alright." He agreed. He pressed the cyber mask's button and it changed into the old lady's face again. "I guess I'll just have to be the bigger man."

He started to push his food cart towards the Davenport's street, leaving me and Leo staring at him. "Do you think he did the mask thing on purpose or…" Leo trailed off. I shrugged and we followed after the former evil mastermind.

"So…future sister in law?" Leo questioned. I shrugged again.

"Well, Jaden's going to marry Bree, or I'm gonna marry Chase. Either way, it's gonna happen." I replied.

** Xxx **

It took Douglas a good hour to fix the chip. While he did this, Leo and I alternated between keeping watch for Mr. Davenport and sampling Douglas' food from his cart. Chase had mentioned his really tasty soup back when there was the avalanche incident, but I didn't actually think he could be this good a cook. I was wrong, dead wrong.

Leo started pacing around Douglas impatiently. "Big D is going to be back any minute. DO SOMETHING!" He shouted in Douglas' ear.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you." Douglas replied. "COULD YOU SAY IT A LITTLE LOUDER?"

"Leo, let him work." I instructed, grabbing a small box of pita chips from the cart.

A few seconds later, Douglas stood up. "There. That's as close to the original design as I can get."

"Well, if your microchips are as good as your pita chips, then I think we're in good shape." I told him. He smirked at me, and then walked over to the Chip Modifier.

"Calla? Leo? What is he doing here?" Leo and I turned around to see Bree walking towards us, eyes focused on Douglas. I stood up immediately, putting the pita chips on my desk.

"It's okay, I brought him here. He can help you." I told her. She frowned uneasily.

"I don't know about this." She said uncertainly.

"You don't have a choice. Do you want to be bionic or not?" Leo questioned. Suddenly, there was a ding behind us. Douglas grinned and pulled out the chip.

"There you are." He was about to hand it to Bree when he suddenly stopped and smelled it. "Why does it smell like pepperoni?

Bree looked at the chip and sighed. "Fine, but this better work." She growled at us. She went to take the chip, but stopped and looked pointedly at Douglas. "Wait. You're not going to like, turn me evil, are you?"

"I tried, didn't take." He replied. She sneered at him, but took the chip and headed towards her capsule.

"Don't worry Bree." Leo called through a mouth full of food. "I mean, what bad guy makes baba ghanoush this good?"

Bree rolled her eyes and stepped back into her capsule. Douglas smiled at Leo and I before hitting the correct buttons. "I've got a really good feeling about this."

The lights flashed in Bree's capsule. A second later, she stepped out. She was smiling. "It feels good. Like normal." She said. Douglas smirked.

"Alright, test it out." He suggested.

Bree nodded and took a deep breath. Then she sped forward, this time actually going forward. "Yes!" "You did it!" Leo and I cheered, high fiving Douglas. Bree sped past us again, seeming to have gone in a complete circle.

"I can't stop…" her voice was lost in the wind, but we got the gist of it.

"I thought you knew what you were doing!" I demanded. He glared at me.

"I'm a little rusty, okay?" He argued back. Suddenly, Mr. Davenport walked into the room. He took one look at his brother and stopped in his tracks.

"How did he get in here?" he demanded. I picked up the box of pita chips.

"We did." I admitted. Mr. Davenport looked shocked and mad. Mostly mad. "But before you get angry, you have to taste this!" I cried, shoving the pita chips towards him. He frowned at the chips, glanced back at the cart, then seemed to decide he didn't care.

Suddenly, Bree came speeding by again. "Help me!" She begged before speeding off again. Mr. Davenport looked at us, well more me than Leo, furiously.

"I specifically told you not to contact him!" He shouted. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't fire you here and now?"

"I'm just a little girl?" I suggested, trying to seem like the innocent angel everyone knew I wasn't. Mr. Davenport wasn't impressed. "And why aren't you mad at Leo?"

"It's Leo! He does this kind of stuff on a daily basis! You, on the other hand, I expected more from!" He snapped.

"Well obviously Leo's a bad influence then!" I argued. Leo looked at me, offended.

"Hey! It was your idea!" He objected. Douglas patted out shoulders.

"Lay off the kids, Donny. They were just trying to help." Douglas defended us. Hmm, I never thought that crackpot would ever be on my side.

"Help her?" Mr. Davenport repeated. He started stalking towards Douglas, the latter backing up as he did so. "She's worse off than she is before! I was this close to fixing this!"

"Oh, I saw your chip. You were no where near close!" Douglas snapped.

"You were no where near close!" Mr. Davenport mocked in a childish voice. They started bickering like little kids. Seriously, they were acting like Jaden and I used to. When I was five!

"Do something!" Bree chose that moment to speed past us. Mr. Davenport groaned in annoyance.

"Bree, do you mind? The adults are trying to have a conversation here." He told her. I nearly laughed out loud at the word 'adults'. Mr. Davenport turned to Leo and I. "Look, we are never going to be able to fix that chip unless we can get Bree to stay in one place."

"Well, how do you propose we stop someone running at the speed of sound?" I questioned. Douglas snapped his fingers.

"Spike strip?" He suggested. Mr. Davenport sneered at him.

"Yeah, sure. Why not? It worked for Wile. E. Coyote." He mocked. Bree sped by again, screaming. "Maybe we can construct a giant airbag." Mr. Davenport said.

"Oh yeah, that's not cartoon-like at all." Douglas commented sarcastically. They began to argue again. Leo looked at me.

"Do you have any ideas?" he asked hopefully. I shrugged, my mind completely blank.

"Quicksand?" I smiled helplessly. Leo raised an eyebrow at me and opened his mouth to speak (probably to call me an idiot) but suddenly gasped.

"That's it!" He exclaimed, grinning. I stared at him.

"You like my idea?" I was surprised. Leo shook his head.

"What? No. Your idea is stupid. I've got a better one." He looked at the two adults.

"Ballistic gel!" He shouted at them, causing them to stop. We all stared at him.

"What?" We all gasped.

"The gel that forensics labs use to test firearms." He explained. Mr. Davenport and Douglas thought about it. I grinned at Leo.

"You are a miniature genius, my friend." I told him. He smirked.

"That's not a bad idea." Mr. Davenport agreed. Douglas looked at him.

"I thought it wasn't a bad idea before you did." He said, clearly trying to start another argument.

"Spike strip." Mr. Davenport chuckled under his breath.

"Air bag." Douglas rolled his eyes at the stupidity. I sighed. Seriously, when were those two going to grow up?

"I think my mom could get us some." I suggested, stopping the argument that was definitely going to happen. Leo nodded eagerly.

"Call her then." He instructed. I smirked and pulled out my phone.

** Xxx **

"And there." Leo sighed as we pushed the large block of ballistic gel onto Bree's path. "The next time Bree runs through here, she'll get stuck in here like a rat."

We all grinned and waited for Bree. Half a second later, she came speeding by. But this time, she came to a dead stop, her feet completely encased in the gel. "Yes!" she cried in relief.

"It worked!" Leo exclaimed. Douglas and Mr. Davenport both grinned.

"I know, I'm a genius." They said at the same time. They gave each other strange looks before whispering to Leo and I, "I'm a genius."

"Well, can you geniuses figure out how to get my bionics to shut off?" Bree demanded. Suddenly, an idea came to me.

"Leo! I've got an idea!" I exclaimed.

** Xxx **

"This is a terrible idea." Bree glared at me. Apparently, she wasn't a fan of the large, teenager sized baby jumper we'd put her in. I'd always wondered why we had one in my attic, but it seemed to come in handy now.

"Well, your feet aren't touching the ground, are they?" I questioned. Bree glanced down. Although they were several inches away from touching the ground, her super speed hadn't turned off. Bree rolled her eyes at me before glancing at the others.

"Can someone please do something?" she begged tiredly. Leo grabbed my arm suddenly, dragging me over to where Douglas and Mr. Davenport were working.

"Tell me that I'm seeing this incorrectly." Leo pleaded. I took one look at the IPad's screen, then glanced at Bree. This was not good.

"No, that's…that's about right." I sighed. Leo gulped.

"Her heartrate is at 200 and rising and while I'm not a doctor, I feel that's unsafe." He told the two adults. Mr. Davenport gulped, then glared at Douglas.

"This is all your fault. You overloaded her chip!" He accused. Douglas looked offended.

"My fault?" He repeated. "It was your chip I was trying to fix, which was flawed. Much like your original nose."

Mr. Davenport gasped, shocked that Douglas would go there. But before he could get out another insult, Bree interrupted him. "Get…this chip…out of me!" She gasped.

"We can't remove your chip while the bionics are in use." Mr. Davenport explained, running over to her. He held up a small white box. "But we can reprogram it wirelessly with this."

He attached the box to her neck. Suddenly, a red warning symbol popped up on the IPad. "Hurry! She's going to red line!" I shouted.

Leo nodded. "If we don't do something, her heart could…"

"My heart could what?" Bree demanded. Leo looked at her, then at the rest of us.

"What's another word for explode?" He asked.

"Detonate? Burst? Erupt?" I suggested unhelpfully. Bree looked at Leo and I, wide eyed.

Mr. Davenport and Douglas paid us no mind, continuing to work. "I'll enable a diagnostic app that will help us isolate problems in the code." Mr. Davenport decided.

"We don't have time for that!" Douglas exclaimed, pushing Mr. Davenport out of the way. "I'll fix the code!"

"No, I'll fix it!" Mr. Davenport said, pushing Douglas out of the way. Douglas gasped suddenly.

"Oh no! What's wrong with her head?" he demanded. We all looked up. Although sweaty and heart beating WAY too fast, Bree was alright. Douglas and Mr. Davenport started pushing at each other, both of them trying to be the one to fix the code.

"STOP! WE'RE RUNNING OUT OF TIME!" Leo shouted, having had enough of their bickering. Douglas suddenly stopped.

"Wait. This line of code hasn't been debugged." He realized. Mr. Davenport's face lit up with realization.

"That's why her neural array keeps re-indexing." He said. Leo and I stared at them in confusion. Usually, I could follow what Mr. Davenport was saying, but now I was just plain confused.

"What does that mean?" I demanded. They both grinned.

"I solved the problem!" They declared. Instead of glaring at each other and yelling 'jinx' like I half expected them to, they started pressing buttons, speaking at the same time. "Complex asterisk, P equal null, value equals 1."

They stopped and Mr. Davenport took a deep breath. "Here we go." He pressed a button on the center consol. After a few seconds, Bree's legs slowed to a stop. Leo and I checked her vitals on the IPad.

"Her heart rate's going down. It's headed for normal." Leo let out a sigh of relief. Bree looked relieved as well, and tired.

"Yay." She murmured, leaning against the baby jumper's ropes tiredly. Leo went to help her down, while the Davenport brothers did some sort of weird handshake/dance thing. We all watched in horror.

"I wish my heart exploded before I saw that." Bree commented. I had to agree with her on that one. Leo helped her out of the baby jumper and helped her to a seat.

"Yo Bree!" I called, tossing her a bottle of water from the mini-fridge. She took it gratefully.

"Thanks." She smiled at me. Suddenly, my phone vibrated. I check it and saw I got a text.

** From: Chase **

** We're on our way back from returning the old lady Adam kidnapped. Want to grab a bite to eat later? **

"What's Chase want?" Bree asked. I glanced at her.

"How'd you know he texted me?" I questioned. She smirked.

"That goofy little smirk on your face." She teased. I rolled my eyes.

"They'll be back soon. I'm guessing you want to tell them the good news yourself?" I asked. She nodded and I sent Chase my reply.

** To: Chase **

** Can we do that tomorrow? Leo and I may have stolen/borrowed a food cart from a porcupine head. **

He didn't take that long to reply.

** From: Chase **

** I'll pick you up at seven tomorrow then. But I'm getting some of that food cart food. **

I laughed, grabbed a couple of boxes of food from the cart, and headed upstairs to meet them. Leo followed my lead.

'So, do you think Big D's really going to fire you?" He asked. I shrugged.

"Probably not. And if he did, I doubt Chase would be very happy with him." I replied. "One of the perks of dating the boss' son."

Leo chuckled and sat down on the couch. The front door opened the second his butt touch the cushions. "Honey, we're home." Chase joked, walking in. Leo and I grinned, getting to our feet.

"Hey guys, guess what?" Leo asked. Before they could reply, Bree sped up in front of us, causing Leo to scream in surprise.

"I'm back, losers." She sang cheerfully. Chase grinned.

"You got your speed back!" he exclaimed, giving his sister a hug. Adam didn't look as excited as we thought he'd be.

"Well that's too bad, because we've already moved on." He said. Chase rolled his eyes, then looked at me.

"So, what's this about a food cart and a porcupine head?" he questioned. I didn't have to answer, because Mr. Davenport and Douglas walked into the room.

"Hey boys." Douglas greeted. Chase frowned in confusion.

"Douglas? What's going on?" he asked. Leo grinned.

"He fixed Bree's chip." He replied.

"Actually, we fixed her chip." Douglas corrected, gesturing at both himself and his brother. He chucked. "That's right. The Davenport boys, together again."

That actually didn't seem like such a bad thing to any of us. Well, except for Mr. Davenport.

"Yeah, not quite." He just had to ruin everyone's good mood. Douglas frowned at him, confused. "Look, I'm grateful for your help and I couldn't have done it without you, but I can't forgive you for what you've done for this family."

Mr. Davenport sighed and pointed at the door. "You should go."

Douglas nodded. "Oh."

We all looked at Mr. Davenport, a little surprised by how cruel he could be. "You can't throw your own brother out on the street." Chase objected. Adam frowned.

"Why not? I'd do it to you." He reminded the younger boy.

"He's tried to hurt us too many times." Mr. Davenport replied. Bree stared at him.

"But he's also saved our lives!" She pointed out. Leo nodded.

"Twice." He agreed.

"Plus, the dude can cook." I pleaded. Douglas glanced at me.

"Speaking of, you and Leo ate sixty dollars worth of my food. Pay up." He ordered. Leo looked at him.

"You heard the man! Out!" He exclaimed. I sighed.

"Leo!" I scolded, taking out my wallet and handing Douglas some cash. "You owe me thirty bucks, Dooley."

Mr. Davenport looked at Douglas. "Go." He ordered. Douglas started towards the door.

"Come on Mr. Davenport, let the guy stay." "Give him a chance." "This isn't fair!" Adam, Bree, and Chase objected.

"Guys." Douglas stopped them. "It's okay. He's right. I messed up. See you around."

We watched him go; only turning away when the door closed behind him. Bree put her hands on my and Leo's shoulders. "Thank you so much guys. If not for you, none of this would have ever worked out."

We smiled softly at her and she turned to Mr. Davenport. "And I promise that I will never do something that stupid ever again."

Mr. Davenport didn't look upset anymore. "We all make mistakes." He assured her. "And everyone deserves a second chance."

Bree frowned and glanced at the door. "Everybody?" she repeated.

We all realized what she was referring to and gave Mr. Davenport hard looks. "Oh snap!" Adam exclaimed. Mr. Davenport sighed.

"You guys are seriously going to make me do this, aren't you?" he guessed. We all exchanged looks.

"You don't really have a choice." Bree replied with a smile.

"To park!" Leo announced.

** Xxx **

"There's the food cart." I pointed out as we walked into the park. Douglas was disguised as an old lady again, fixing up another box of pita chips. Leo walked up to her and grinned.

"Hey Douglas." He greeted. Chase frowned.

"I don't think that's Douglas." He commented. Adam nodded his agreement.

"Yeah, she has much bigger hands." He pointed out. Leo rolled his eyes.

"Trust me guys. This is no lady." He replied, reaching towards the lady's neck. He was trying to find the button for the cyber mask. The lady shoved him away, glaring at him.

"Get off me!" She exclaimed. I gulped. That was not Douglas' voice, therefore, that was not Douglas.

"Come on Douglas. Ditch the mask." He frowned at the lady's head. "Where's the button on this thing?"

He reached forward again, only to be pushed away once again. The lady grabbed a pair of tongs and threatened him with it. "I'm warning you kid. Stop poking me or you're going to meet the wrong end of these tongs."

Leo looked at the woman, both confused and frightened. Suddenly, Douglas stood popped out from behind some bushes. "It's okay, Greta." He told the lady. "They're with me."

Leo screamed then, surprised. He looked at the lady, having realized his mistake. "So that's Douglas."

She nodded. "Uh huh." She replied.

"And you're a real lady." He continued. She glared at him.

"Uh huh." She nodded, still holding up the tongs. Leo looked back at us.

"Help me!" He begged. I grabbed him by the back of his sweater and pulled him away from the woman before he could offend her more. She just rolled her eyes and walked away as Douglas climbed out of the bushes.

"So, what are you guys doing here?" he asked suspiciously. We pushed Mr. Davenport forward, knowing he wouldn't start this willingly.

"We…um…we were going on a family jog. Leo gets winded on the last mile, so we all have to carry him. Can't go alone. Bye." He tried to walk away, so we all stood in front of him, forcing him to turn back to him brother. Douglas looked at him, curious about what he had to say.

Mr. Davenport sighed. "Okay, I may have been a little harsh earlier." He admitted. Douglas raised an eyebrow.

"A little?" he repeated.

"Don't push it, you're sleeping in a bush." I reminded him. He considered that for a moment.

"Continue." He told Mr. Davenport.

"I realized that everybody deserves a second chance. Even you." He sighed. "So as soon as you apologize for all the things you've done, and say that I'm better than you, maybe you can come stay with us for a while. If you don't want to, you don't have to." He added, trying to get out of this. Douglas stopped him.

"No, no, no." He said. "It's…clear that you need me. So, I'm sorry and thank you." Mr. Davenport nodded, accepting the apology. "Now let's go home."

Mr. Davenport grinned. "Alright, but I only brought the motorcycle, so you're going to have to ride on back."

Douglas shook his head. "Nah, I'll drive." He offered. Mr. Davenport chuckled.

"I don't think so. Everybody knows, the big guy rides in front." Mr. Davenport pointed out.

"Well I'm not going to sit there with my arms wrapped around you." They argued, walking out of the park. We just watched them go, shaking our heads at them.

"Wow, so immature." Chase commented. Adam nodded.

"Yeah, who acts like that?" He asked. I glanced at them.

"You guys do know that Jessica saw you two arguing about the same thing earlier today? She texted me pics of you guys." I told them. Bree and Leo smirked at me.

"Show us." They begged. I held out my phone and showed them the different pictures, the weirdest of which involved Chase sitting on top of the handle bars. As hilarious as that was, I did have to admit he looked good in a motorcycle jacket.

** Xxx **

"Isn't this show supposed to make you dumber?" I asked as Adam changed the channel to Sponge Bob Square Pants. Chase shrugged.

"It's kinda funny." He replied. Adam glanced over at us.

"Hey, you guys want a snack?" He questioned. I shrugged.

"Sure." Chase replied.

Instead of getting up like most people would, Adam just called "Oh Myrtle!"

Suddenly, the same old lady as before sped forward at a speed only Bree could match. She was holding a plate of peanut butter cookies. Adam took the plate from her as Chase started in shock.

"What did you do?" he demanded. Adam grinned proudly.

"Now that Mr. Davenport fixed Bree's chip, I made a copy and stuck it in Myrtle. She thinks it's a pace maker." He replied, holding the plate out to us. "Cookie?"

I took a couple, but Chase was still too stunned to eat. "You put a chip in an old lady and it works?" Chase demanded. "Mr. Davenport is never going to believe this!"

"Chase, wait!" I called after him as he ran towards the lab, but he didn't hear me. I shook my head. "Unbelievable."

'Myrtle' reached up and touched her neck. The cyber mask turned off, revealing Bree's smirking face. "Did he really think that you were smart enough to do that?" Bree questioned.

Adam laughed. "I'm as shocked as you are."

I couldn't help but laugh too. "Oh, Bree! By the way, I have a surprise for you!"

"What's up?" Bree asked, sitting down next to me. I handed her a blue and white bracelet.

"The geo-leap bracelet is done." I replied. Her eyes lit.

"You mean I can teleport to Australia whenever I want?" she gasped. I nodded.

"On one condition." I warned. She looked at me desperately.

"Anything." She replied. I smirked.

"My birthday's in a few weeks. I want a baby koala." I announced. Bree laughed and slipped on the bracelet.

"One baby koala coming right up. I'll tell Jaden that you said hi." She told me. She closed her eyes and disappeared with a  _zap_.


	18. You Posted What?!

** Chase's POV **

Normally, I didn't mind missions. I actually enjoyed them often; I liked helping people a lot. But couldn't we have one week without a mission?

I was in the middle of planning a very special date for Calla and I when I got the alert. See, tomorrow was our one year anniversary and I figured I'd have to do something special for her. And not just because Bree insisted that this was the most important day in our relationship.

So, as a surprise, I was going to get reservations at that new restaurant, Cordon Bleu, for us, then take her out to see the new Sci-Fi movie she was excited about.

Then of course, right when I was in the middle of trying to get the restaurant reservations, we got the mission alert. Worst timing ever.

"Hey, it could be worse." Bree commented as we looked around the mission site. We were supposed to be fixing a ruptured gas line, but had yet to find the rupture. I glanced at her. "We could have gotten the mission alert tomorrow night, during your date."

"Fair point." I agreed.

"Guys! I found the hole in the pipe!" Adam suddenly shouted. We ran up to him and saw the large rupture in the large pipe. I nodded at him.

"Good work Adam." I complimented as I quickly scanned the mission site. My scan showed that we were completely alone.

"The rupture's getting worse." Bree told us. I looked at her.

"That's natural gas. We have to fix that leak or it will explode. Go check the rest of the pipeline for cracks." I ordered.

"On it." Bree sped off to the East, running along the side of the pipeline. I pulled out my handheld scanner and scanned the pipe.

"We have to move fast." I said to my brother. "The whole pipe is unstable."

"Hey, you ever wonder what it would be like if we weren't bionic?" He asked suddenly. I rolled my eyes. Yet another random question from Adam. "What's the first thing you'd do?" he continued.

"Not get trapped in these stupid conversations." I replied. He smirked, not noticing the annoyance in my tone.

"You know what I would do if I wasn't bionic? Try to become bionic?" I rolled my eyes again.

"Can we just do this?" I demanded. He sighed.

"Fine. I'll seal the crack with my heat vision." He offered. I stopped him before he could.

"Yes, let's shoot blistering heat at highly flammable gas." I said, sarcasm dripping from my voice. Of course, Adam didn't notice.

"I just said that. Were you not listening?" he questioned. I looked at him, hoping he wasn't serious. Unfortunately, he was.

"Just let me contain the gas with my force field first." I told him. I lifted my hands and held the force field around the gas, keeping it away from where Adam was going to shoot his lasers. "Alright, it's only going to hold it for a few seconds. Go."

He didn't answer, but glared at the rupture. Two bright red lasers blasted from his eyes at the hole, welding it closed.

Suddenly, Bree sped back over to us. When she skidded to a stop, she was covered in rashes and leaves. "I checked all two hundred miles." She reported before pulling some of the leaves out of her hair. "Seventy of which had poison oak." She added with a grimace.

"Alright…" I spared her a glance as she began to scratch her neck. "Let's get out of here."

She stopped scratching. "Alright, grab on."

I looked at the poison oak leaves still in her hair. "Actually, I'm gonna take the bus." I decided. She gave me a hurt look, but I paid it no mind.

"Me too." Adam agreed before we ran off.

** S-1's POV **

The brown hair girl looked at the two boys. "Alright, grab on."

The shortest of the boys didn't look like he wanted to. "Actually, I'm going to take the bus." He told her. The taller boy nodded in agreement.

"Me too." He agreed before they ran off. The girl sped off after them, running at the speed of a train.

I smirked to myself, climbing out of my hiding spot. I pressed the stop button on my recorder, grinning. Time to upload this onto the internet.

** Calla's POV **

"Calla Alexandria Parker, get your butt downstairs now!" I groaned at the sound of my mom's voice, and blinked open my eyes. What time was it?

I glanced at my clock. 7:50. Oh, crap!

"I'm late!" I muttered, jumping out of bed. School started in ten minutes! I must have overslept! No wonder my mom was yelling at me!

In record time, I pulled on a pair of jeans and my favourite panda t-shirt. I started towards the stairs, then ran back into my room and grabbed the black box off my dresser. Obviously, I couldn't let myself forget Chase's anniversary gift. Then I scrambled downstairs, my backpack in one hand. "I know, I know. I'm late. My alarm didn't go off." I explained as I ran into the living room. My mom was standing in the middle of the room, arms crossed. For some reason, I got the feeling that she wasn't angry about me sleeping in. "What's up?"

"Is there anything you want to tell me?" She asked me, using that tone that told me I was busted for something. The problem was, I couldn't think of anything I'd done that was punishable. "About your friends?"

I frowned. What was she talking about? "Mom, I really have no idea what you're going on about." I told her. She picked up the TV remote.

"Let me show you then." She turned the TV onto the news. My heart nearly stopped when I saw the main story.

It was a video clip of Adam, Bree, and Chase, all in their mission uniforms. But that wasn't it. The clip showed Bree using her super speed, Chase using his force field, and Adam using his heat vision. Above the clip, in large letters, it read: The World's First Bionic Superhumans

I couldn't speak, could hardly breathe. The secret was out. The world knew about their bionics. All our hard work, everything we've done to keep it a secret and now it was all for nothing. Everything was ruined now.

The government would come. Davenport would be arrested. Chase would be taken away from me forever.

"Well, Calla? Would you like to explain this?" My mom questioned, oblivious to my growing horror. I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out.

It took me a few seconds to find my voice. "I…Mom…it's um…CGI." I lied, coming up with the first excuse my mind could come up with. But my mom didn't buy it for a second.

"You're lying to me." She accused. I sighed. She knew.

"I've gotta go." I told her, heading for the door. My hand was already in my pocket, searching for my cell phone.

"Wait just one minute!" My mom stopped me before I could leave. "You knew about this? You knew you were dating some…some freak?"

"He's a hero, not a freak." I snapped instantly, glaring at her. "And yes, I knew about it."

"Calla, he's a living weapon. They all are. You saw what they did!" She pointed at the screen. They were still playing the video.

"Yes, they stopped an explosion from happening. I don't see how that makes them freaks or weapons." I argued.

"Imagine what else they can do. With those kinds of abilities, they could kill people! They're armed and dangerous." My mom told me. "How could you knowingly get involved in this?

I looked at her, stunned. My mom and I got along extremely well. Arguments between us were rare and she usually trusted my judgement. So I couldn't understand why she was acting as if my best friends and boyfriend were dangerous criminals.

"I got involved in this because of what I've seen them do. They risk their lives on a daily basis trying to save lives. In the past month alone, they put out a fire at a chemical plant and they stopped that pipe from exploding. Not to mention, they've saved my life on at least three different occasions!" I exclaimed. "Now if you excuse me, I'm leaving."

"You're grounded, young lady." My mother's tone was cold. I stopped and glanced over my shoulder. "For lying to me for who knows how long and for being involved in this."

"Fine." I agreed. "Take my laptop and cell phone away, lock me in my bedroom, give me a curfew. I don't care. Bye."

I slammed the door behind me, my phone in my hand. I walked quickly to the Davenport's house, trying to turn the device on. When the screen remained black, I realized that I'd forgotten to charge it last night. Wonderful…

I didn't bother knocking as I opened the front door to the Davenport household. "Chase? Adam, Bree? Leo?" I called, desperately hoping they'd be there. Someone had to be home at least. When I got no answer, a terrible thought occurred to me. What if the government already came? My calls got more desperate as I tried again. "Chase? Anyone? Hello?"

"Calla?" Tasha ran out from the other room, followed by Douglas and Mr. Davenport. The latter frowned.

"Shouldn't you be at school?" Mr. Davenport asked.

"Where are Adam, Bree, and Chase?" I demanded, ignoring his question. That just confused them more.

"At school. Where you should be." Mr. Davenport replied. Tasha looked at me, concerned.

"Is everything alright, sweetie? You look upset." She commented. I looked at them and realized they still didn't know what was going on.

"I'm guessing you haven't seen the news yet." I said.

** Chase's POV **

"Hmm. Calla's not answering her phone and she always meets us at the bus stop." I wondered aloud as we headed up the steps to the school. Bree shrugged.

"You know her. She probably got caught up with some work assignment at home. I'm sure you'll see your girlfriend in homeroom." She assured me. Adam stopped, then grinned.

"Speaking of girlfriends," he commented before waving at Jessica. She was standing by the door, looking at her phone. "Hey Jessie!"

Jessica looked up, but didn't come over like she usually did. Instead, she paled and ran off in the other direction.

"Well that's unusual." Leo commented, frowning. Adam nodded.

"Yeah, usually girls only run from Chase." He agreed. I glared at him as we walked inside. The second we entered the building, we realized just how weird everyone was acting. Either they were running away from us like Jessica, or staring at us with wide eyes.

"Principal Perry, what's everybody looking at?" Bree asked in confusion. Perry looked at us.

"A new viral video. Guess what it's called. The World's First Bionic Humans." She replied. We all stared at her.

"What?" we demanded, shocked. Adam frowned in confusion.

"Wait, there are other bionic people?" he asked. He looked at us. "Then why are we working so hard?"

"She's talking about us!" I snapped at him. Perry nodded.

"Yeah, look." She showed us her IPad. On it, there was a video of yesterday's mission. It showed in perfect detail us using our bionics.

"That's yesterday's mission." I realized, dread washing over me.

"Somebody filmed us." Bree whispered, horrified.

"Your secret's out. Everybody's going to know you're bionic." Leo stated the obvious.

"Great! Now I can't blackmail daddy big-bucks anymore! My gravy train just ran right off the tracks!" Perry exclaimed, upset.

We chose to ignore her. Suddenly, I was fully aware of the hard stares we were getting from everyone in the room. They were looking at us as if we were freaks. We all looked around at our classmates and friends.

"Everyone's staring at us." Bree said, sounding nervous. Perry looked around and actually did a nice thing for once.

"Hey! Stop staring!" She ordered. At the sound of her harsh, commanding voice, the people scattered. "Scram! So they're bionic, big deal! Get to class before they mow you down with their finger missiles!" She ordered. The hall was empty in seconds, leaving just the four of us.

"How could this happen?" Bree demanded, after a moment. "What are we going to do?"

She was completely panicking and I didn't blame her. I wanted to comfort her, to tell her that everything was going to be fine, but the truth was, it wasn't.

"I don't know." I admitted. "We're in big trouble."

"Wait!" Leo suddenly gasped, a bright look on his face. "I know how we can fix this. We'll convince everyone that the video was made with special effects. Like those fake videos Adam's always watching."

Adam look at Leo, stunned. "So Giant Baby Eats Tokyo is fake?" he questioned. Leo looked at us, his point made. "I should have known." Adam sighed. "Where are they going to get a diaper than big?"

I nodded at Leo. "That might actually work." I told him.

"First we'd better go tell Mr. Davenport." Bree told us. We started to leave, but Adam stopped us.

"Wait, is Giant Baby Eats London fake too?" he asked. "Because I just sent fifty bucks to the Victim's Relief Fund."

"Come on!" I grabbed his arm and pushed him outside. We ran back to our house as fast as our legs could carry us, hoping that Leo's idea might work.

"Mr. Davenport!" I shouted, pushing open the front door. He and Tasha were at his desk, Douglas at the kitchen counter, and Calla sitting on the couch.

"Chase!" She exclaimed, jumping up and throwing her arms around me. I hugged her tightly as Douglas, Tasha, and Mr. Davenport ran towards us.

"Calla just showed us the video." Mr. Davenport told us. I looked at her.

"My mom confronted me about it when I woke up." She explained. "I came right here."

"What are we going to do?" Tasha demanded.

"I say we sell Chase to the circus and use the money to start our new lives." Adam suggested. I looked at him, offended. Leo got right to business, ignoring Adam's hurtful comment.

"Big D, I know how we can fix this." He started, only to be cut off by Douglas.

"We already tried that, Leo. But it's too late. The video's all over the news and experts have verified that the footage wasn't manipulated." He picked up the TV remote and changed it to the news. The video clip of us was playing there too. "People all over the world are freaking out."

"Of course they are." Adam agreed. "They just saw Chase in a skin tight costume."

Calla gave him a hard stare. "That's enough Adam." She ordered.

"Guys, Douglas is right." Mr. Davenport sighed. "This is way too big to spin."

Tasha shook her head in shock. "I can't believe this. You guys are the biggest news story ever." She said. "And I got scooped!"

"How could this have happened?" Mr. Davenport picked up his IPad. I shook my head, helpless.

"I don't know. I did a thermal scan of the mission site. No one was there." I replied.

"Well, the footage from my Daven-Earth Satellite says otherwise." He corrected me, showing me the satellite footage on his IPad. It showed us fixing the pipe, but it also showed a teenage girl in the bushes behind us.

"What?" I demanded, staring at her. How could that be possible? "But I scanned the site."

"Yeah, well you missed a spot and now the entire family's in danger." Mr. Davenport told me. I winced at his words. This couldn't be my fault, could it?

"Come on Donny. The kid made a mistake." Douglas tried to defend me. "It could happen to anyone."

"Not really. He's the only one who thermal scans." Adam reminded everyone. I looked at him, seriously offended that he was picking on me even now.

Calla took my hand. "Ignore him." She murmured. I nodded.

"So what's our next move?" Leo asked. Tasha looked at us hopefully.

"Give Tasha Davenport an exclusive interview?" she asked hopefully. We all looked at her. "It's my job to ask." She defended herself.

"Don't worry guys, I prepared for this." Mr. Davenport assured us. "I've got a safe house in a secure location. You three will hide there. It's got capsules, food, everything you'll need for a year's worth of survival."

We all stared at him. A year?

"A year?" Bree said my thoughts aloud. Mr. Davenport hesitated.

"Well, three hundred and forty-three days. After that, I guess you could play rock paper scissors and eat the loser." He suggested, shrugging. We stared at him.

"In the meantime," he continued. "I'm going to hold a press conference and prove to the world you're not dangerous. When they're ready to accept you, you'll come home. Any questions?"

"Yeah. I finally decided to whiten my teeth." Adam announced. "Wait, that's not a question. So yeah, no questions."

"Come on." I whispered to Calla, leading her down to the lab. The second we got down there, she started rummaging through her desk.

"Where is it?" She muttered under her breath.

"Where's what?" Leo asked, following us down here. She didn't answer at first, then pulled out two USB sticks. She tossed one to Leo.

"Back everything on your computer up onto that memory stick, then wipe the computer." She ordered. "If the government come, we don't want them seeing all the information on the bionics that we have here."

"Good idea." Leo agreed. I went into the back room while they worked, and grabbed a small bag. I shoved stuff in there quickly – my mission uniform, my wallet, a picture of Calla, a couple of weapons, and a box of granola bars (I didn't think the whole 'rock, paper scissors to see who gets eaten first' thing would work out so well).

"I don't get it." I complained when I walked back in. "I know I scanned the mission site. How did I not notice that girl?"

"Yeah, it is weird." Leo agreed. "Usually it's the girl that doesn't notice you." I gave him a look.

"Chase, if you're so sure you did the scan, why don't you check your chip log?" Calla asked. "I haven't deleted it yet."

"Good idea." I walked over to her desk and started inputting the codes. At the same time, Douglas walked past us, carrying a box full of old inventions.

"Guys, hurry up." He ordered. "This is why I should have raised you. Then you'd know how to abandon a building."

I ignored him and looked at my chip log. Just as I thought… "Aha! Look!"

They looked at the screen where it showed the chip scan. "Chase is right. He did do a thermal scan of the mission site." Leo realized. I grinned.

"Yes!" I exclaimed. "I knew it! I'm still perfect!"

Calla put her hand on my shoulder. "Hey babe? Vanity is not an attractive feature."

I rolled my eyes. "Hey, wait a minute." Leo said suddenly. He brought the satellite footage back onto the screen, right below the chip scan. "Look. The time codes match."

We watched as my thermal scan passed right over where the girl should be. "The satellite says that she's there, but she's no where to be found on the chip log."

"That's impossible." I frowned in confusion. "Something weird's going on. I'm going to tell Mr. Davenport."

"Good idea." Douglas agreed. "But leave out the part about being perfect. It just makes people want to punch you in the face."

I considered that, then ran upstairs. Adam and Bree were in the living room, packing. "Guys, where's Mr. Davenport?" I demanded.

"Still upstairs. Why?" Bree asked.

"I was right. I did scan the site, but that girl didn't show up on the chip log." I explained. Adam frowned.

"What does that mean?" he asked. Before I could say anything, the lights suddenly cut out and the door opened. Men in black uniforms started pouring in from every possible entrance and we were suddenly forced to the ground.

"Secure the perimeter!" A tall man, the only one not wearing completely black, ordered. He looked at us. "Don't try anything. We have more than enough fire power to take you down."

He looked at one of the other men. "Hit the lights. I need eyes on them."

The lights flickered back on and we were pulled to our feet.

"Who are you?" I demanded, glaring at the man.

"Why are you doing this?" Bree added.

"Quiet." The man growled in response. "I ask the questions."

He then pulled out a walkie-talkie and spoke into it. "We got them. Bionic targets have been secured."

Adam grabbed the remote. "Is what I would say if I found them, but I haven't." He spoke in a deep voice, trying to imitate the man. He was pulled back by two of the black-suited men around us. They were agents, I now realized. Government agents.

"No, you've got it all wrong! We're not a threat!" Bree exclaimed, trying to reason with the man. "You obviously saw the video of us fixing the pipeline!"

"We're on your team." I agreed.

"I'll decide who's team you're on." The man scowled at us.

"You know what will help? If we do shirts and skins." He started to pull off his shirt. "Come on guys."

"Keep your shirt on." The man ordered. Adam shrugged, but did as he was told.

"Fine, you be skins. I was just trying to be nice. I know how you old guys are about showing your love handles." Adam replied.

"Okay, okay!" We looked up and saw Mr. Davenport and Tasha being forced down the stairs. Tasha glared at the man in front of us. "I know my rights. You can not barge in here without a warrant."

The man pulled a piece of paper out of his pockets and showed it to them. Mr. Davenport took it, while Tasha looked miffed. "Well aren't you mister prepared." She muttered.

I looked at Mr. Davenport hopefully. "Mr. Davenport, talk to them." I requested. Bree nodded.

"Tell them to let us go." She pleaded. Mr. Davenport read over the warrant, then looked at us with sad eyes.

"Guys…there's nothing I can do." He said, his tone sounding defeated. "It's over."

We all looked at him, a little surprised. There was nothing he could do? But whenever we had a problem we couldn't solve ourselves, we went to him! Was it really over, just like that?

** Calla's POV **

" _Guys…there's nothing I can do. It's over."_ Leo, Douglas and I watched in distraught as Mr. Davenport told them the cold, hard truth.

_ He's right. It's all over. _  I thought darkly. The secret was out, the government had won. The angry part of me that wanted to go upstairs and do SOMETHING, anything to fix this. But the logical part of me told me that it'd be useless and that there was nothing we could do.

"We have to save them!" Leo exclaimed, catching my attention.

"We don't stand a chance against those guys." Douglas replied. Leo looked at him angrily.

"Then Calla and I will rescue them ourselves. Come on, Parker." He called, heading for the door.

"How are we supposed to save them, Leo?" I questioned. "If you have an idea, I want to hear it. But…I've got nothing. We're out numbered and they will likely not hesitate to kill us."

Leo looked at me. "Don't you want to help them?" he demanded.

"Of course I do!" I snapped. "But we should hide, bide our time, come up with a real plan. If they capture us, it's going to be all over." Leo still looked like he wanted to do something reckless. Not that I blamed him; reckless was my middle name. "Leo, haven't you ever heard the saying 'Live to fight another day'?"

Suddenly, a noise from behind us made us jump. Douglas pressed a button on my computer and it showed the elevator. The elevator full of armed agents.

"They're coming in the elevator." We started running towards the back exit, but stopped when we heard footprints coming from that direction. "From the tunnel too."

"We're surrounded." I whispered, suddenly fearful. Douglas looked at Leo and I.

"Want me to blow up the lab again? I'm good at it!" He exclaimed. I grabbed the IPad from Leo's desk.

"Let's make that plan B." I told Douglas, holding the IPad out so Leo could do the honours. He frowned at us.

"Well, what's plan A?" he demanded. Leo smirked.

"This." He replied, pressing a button on the IPad. Suddenly, the floor gave out beneath us. We fell several feet and landed on something soft.

"What are we lying on?" I asked as we watched the floor panel replace itself. It was too dark to see who it was, but a form next to me chuckled.

"This is where my mom keeps spare blankets and pillows in case the lab gets cold in the winter." Leo whispered from my left. We sat in silence as we listened to what was going on in the lab.

"Tell Agent Graham that the lab is secure." I heard one of the agents say. Suddenly, a bright light appeared next to me. I turned to see Douglas holding his phone out, the flash of his camera on.

"Come on." He pulled Leo and I to our feet and we started looking around the room. "How are we supposed to get out of here?" he questioned.

"There's a fire escape somewhere around…here it is!" I hissed, pushing open the door. It led to one of the smaller, unused tunnels in the lab. This one was dimly lit, enough so that we didn't need Douglas' phone.

"Come on." Leo nodded at us and we began to walk along the hall.

"Fire escape, nice." Douglas nodded. "Who's idea?"

"Mr. Davenport's. He was always extra prepared in case of something like this." I replied. After a few minutes of walking, the tunnel came to a stop. There was a ladder off to one side.

"Ladies first." Leo nodded at the ladder. I smiled in confusion, but started up the ladder.

"Since when did you become such a gentleman?" I asked.

"I'm not. But if this opens up into the middle of a busy street, you're totally going first." Leo replied. I laughed and pushed the open the trap door above me. It revealed a small expanse of trees.

"No busy street or cars in view. It's safe to come up." I called, getting out of the way. Both Leo and Douglas climbed out and stood beside me as I pushed the trapdoor closed and covered it with dirt. Mr. Davenport had been very clear on people not seeing this trapdoor.

"Where are we?" Leo asked, frowning. I pointed above the tree line, at a large brown building.

"The school. Mr. Davenport always thought it would be a safe place to hide. People tend to avoid going there because of Perry." I replied. "Now come! We need to get out of here!"

** Calla's POV **

We ran into the school, winded. My secret fire escape was a good idea, but we all agreed that being indoors would give us a better chance at staying hidden.

"We'll hide here until we figure out our next move." Douglas told us, looking around.

"You know things are bad if school is my safe place." Leo muttered. I smirked, then looked over his shoulder, seeing something very peculiar. Leo and Douglas followed my gaze to see Perry going through one of the lockers.

"Principal Perry, why are you going through Bree's locker?" I asked curiously. Perry gasped and spread her hands against the locker, legs apart, as if she was getting arrested. "It's just us," I informed her. "Not the police."

Perry backed up and slammed the locker door closed, then looked at us. "What are you doing here?"

"More importantly, what are you doing with Bree's things?" Leo questioned, looking confused.

"Certainly not trying to decide what to sell in my bionic souvenir gift shop." She replied. Suddenly, her gaze locked on Douglas and she smiled. She actually smiled. "Ooh. I see you've brought the one family member that doesn't disgust me. Hello." She said, pushing Leo and I to the side.

Douglas looked momentarily disturbed, but then continued. "Principal Perry, we need your help."

Perry continued to smile, much to Leo and my disgust. "Please, call me Terry. It's easy to remember because it rhymes with marry."

Douglas looked at us for help, but we just shook our heads. This was both creepy and amusing at the same time. "If it's okay, I'd still like to call you Principal, because it rhymes with…" Douglas thought for a moment, "I have a girlfriend."

I rolled my eyes at Perry, who was still smiling up at Douglas. "Government agents took over the house and kidnapped Adam, Bree, and Chase!" Leo announced. She turned around glared at him.

"Put a sock in it! Momma's trying to get her groove back!" She snapped at him, causing the younger boy to back up a step. He looked terrified of her, but I didn't blame him.

"It's true!" I supplied, trying to help. Douglas nodded.

"For all we know, they're being grilled by the feds right now." He agreed. Perry looked suddenly afraid.

"No, no, no, no, no! If the feds find out I was in on this, I'm cooked!" She panicked, then took a deep breath and pulled out her cell phone. "I guess there's only one thing left to do. Trade you three for my freedom."

"No!" We all shouted. Douglas grabbed her wrist, stopping her from making the call.

"Please." He begged. "You're our only friend right now."

Perry glanced at his hand, still holding onto her wrist. "Well, who could say no to a man with such hairy knuckles." She stroked her face with Douglas' hand, much to his obvious disgust.

He pulled her hand away from her, then looked at me. "Can't we go back to our place? I'm sure your mom would help us." He pleaded. I shook my head.

"Sorry Douglas, but that's the first place they'd look for me, and therefore you guys as well." I replied. That, and I wasn't sure who's side my mom would be on. I didn't think she'd turn me over to the feds (I was her only daughter, for God's sake) but I had no clue what she'd do with Douglas or Leo.

"We don't think the bionic video was an accident." Leo told Perry, pulling out his phone and showing her the picture of the girl. "This is the girl who filmed then. Do you know her?"

"No, but email me the picture and I'll run it through our student faculty database." Perry offered. He nodded and did just that. "It's supposed to be used for transcripts, but I use it to play the ugly face, ugly name game."

We looked at her. She smiled at Douglas. "I'll be back in a flash, my little love troll." She walked into her office, leaving Douglas more confused and repulsed than ever.

Leo and I looked back at the photo. "Okay, let's think about this." Leo said, checking out the stats on his phone. "The mission was to fix a busted pipe that got ruptured during seismic activity at exactly…" He trailed off, frowning. "Wait. This geological website says there was no seismic activity yesterday."

"That's weird." Douglas murmured. Perry came out of her office just then, carrying a piece of paper, and he pushed Leo and I in front of him as human shields.

"Nothing came up on your gal." Perry told us. "The records say she doesn't exist. But check out the donkey face of this French teacher from Modesto. Bonjour, Matilda Flart!"

Perry then showed us a picture that will scar me for life. Even describing it would give on nightmares.

"Wait, so there was no seismic activity and there's no record of the girl's existence?" I questioned. "This was a setup. There's no other explanation."

Douglas snapped his fingers. "If we can find evidence that the pipe was sabotaged, that would prove it! Let's go check out that mission site!"

We started to leave, but Perry stopped us. "Wait, there's one more thing you should know!" she announced. We stopped to hear what it was and she looked at Douglas. "The school board frowns on parents dating teachers, but let's be honest. You ain't no parent, and I ain't no teacher."

Douglas didn't know how to respond to that (to be fair, who would?) so he just ran, Leo and I racing after him.

** Chase's POV **

Bree and I watched in silence as the government agents finished their scan of Adam. I guess they were trying to see if we were radioactive or something. I wasn't really sure. Meanwhile, Mr. Davenport and Tasha were in the lab, being interrogated.

I briefly wondered where Calla, Leo and Douglas were. Somehow, they'd managed to escape the agents. I wasn't sure how that was possible, but then again, it was Calla and Leo. Those two were always full of surprises.

Those two were also reckless and likely to do something stupid, like try to rescue us. That's what I was worried about most. These guys were armed and outnumber them; if Calla and Leo attacked, they could get seriously hurt.

"I wonder how Mr. Davenport's holding up." Bree murmured suddenly.

"He's the one who taught us how to handle interrogations. I'm sure he's fine." I told her, trying to calm her nerves.

"Yeah, but that Agent Graham seems…" She trailed off, looking for the right word.

"Scary?" I suggested. She nodded. "Bree, the guy's a crackpot who chases after myths and legends for a living. I don't think Mr. Davenport's in any danger."

She nodded thoughtfully. I looked at the agent watching us, then whispered in my sister's ear. "Hey, where's your geo-leaping watch?"

She scowled. "In my bag." She nodded at the blue backpack sitting over by the door. And two armed guards.

"Damn it." I muttered. Suddenly, a sound from the other room caught all of our attentions.

"Catch that mutt!" One of the agents said. Glitch came bolting out from the hall.

"Glitch!" Bree called, bending down and picking the puppy up. The agents looked at us warily, as if they were considering taking Bree's dog from her.

"Dude, it's a puppy." I exclaimed. Bree's grip on the dog tightened, but the agents seemed to know better than try to separate the two.

"What are we going to do, Chase?" Bree whispered, her voice slightly muffled as she pressed her lips to Glitch's head. I frowned.

"I don't know." I replied. "I just don't know."

** Calla's POV **

We got to the mission site in record time. Leo and I checked around the site while Douglas checked the pipe for any signs of sabotage.

Eventually, after ten minutes of finding nothing, I turned to Douglas, a smirk on my face. "So…" He looked up at me when I spoke. "You and Principal Perry…"

"I don't want to talk about it!" He snapped. I held up my hands in an 'I surrender' motion.

"Hey guys, check this out!" Leo called suddenly. We headed over to where he was. He pointed at some burn mark on the ground. "That looks like a superspeed trail."

"But those can't be Bree's. She went to the east and these clearly point south." I commented. Douglas frowned.

"That's the bush the girl was hiding behind." He pointed at the bush right next to the burn marks. I walked into them and positioned myself as if I was filming something.

"Yep. But if the trail isn't Bree's, then it must be hers." I frowned, confused. How could some random girl have bionics?

"Could she be bionic?" Leo asked Douglas, as confused as I was. Douglas shook his head.

"Impossible. The only other person with bionics is…" He trailed off. "Krane."

"But the last time I checked, Krane was a large man, not a teenage girl." I reminded them. Leo looked at Douglas.

"You gave him a cyber mask, didn't you?" he guessed. I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow at Douglas, waiting for the answer.

"I might have." He admitted. I groaned in annoyance, then he continued. "And I might have also given him a full body cyber cloak too."

We stared at him, horrified. "He was only supposed to use it on Halloween!" Douglas defended himself. "Last year, we went as Brad and Angelina."

I sighed. "Douglas, you know I have a lot of respect for your inventing skills." I started. He nodded, grinning arrogantly. "But you sir, are an idiot."

He glared at me, but didn't argue. I mean, how could he?

"So if Douglas is the girl, what do we do now?" Leo asked. Douglas looked terrified.

"I don't know about you two, but I'm slapping on a cyber mask and selling apples by the highway." He declared, running off. I looked at Leo.

"Why are adults are such cowards?" I questioned. He shrugged.

"Maybe it's because we don't know better to not be afraid?" he suggested.

** Chase's POV **

Tasha and Mr. Davenport had been down in the lab for more than an hour now and even I was starting to get worried. Bree was trying to distract herself by playing with Glitch, although her mind was obviously focused on the agents around us. Adam was playing it cool, trying to start up conversations with the agents.

Suddenly, the elevator doors opened. Tasha and Mr. Davenport ran out. "Good news guys!" Tasha smiled. "They've got nothing on you. You're free to go."

"I never said that." Agent Graham corrected. Mr. Davenport looked at him.

"But you don't have any evidence that-"

"They're bionic humans, I don't need anymore evidence." Agent Graham cut him off. "But I will be taking them away for a much more through examination."

"Where?" Bree asked.

"A secure testing facility in the desert." Agent Graham replied, looking through some paper.

"Ooh. Is it Area 51?" Adam asked.

"No." Agent Graham replied in a bored voice.

"Is it Area 52?" Adam continued asking questions.

"No." Agent Graham replied again.

"Area 53?" Adam tried.

"No!" Agent Graham snapped. Adam grinned.

"He's getting madder. I must be getting closer." He said to Bree and I. I sighed and looked at the agents around us.

"You guys are going to love working with him." I commented. Bree smirked at me, then looked at Agent Graham.

"What about Mr. Davenport? What's going to happen to him?" She asked, worried.

"He's been harbouring unauthorized weapons of mass destruction." Agent Graham told us, as if his answer was obvious. "So he'll be taken into custody, pending my full report."

We all exchanged looks. Mr. Davenport was going to prison and it was all because of us. And there was nothing any of us could do to fix this.

Mr. Davenport glanced at us, then looked back at Agent Graham. "It doesn't matter what happens to me." He said. "But admit it; you're never going to let them go."

"Don't worry." Agent Graham replied. "Lots of people thrive in solitary confinement."

My eyes widened. Solitary confinement? He had to be joking. Please, let him be joking.

"Wait, you're going to split them up?" Mr. Davenport demanded. Agent Graham looked at him.

"Absolutely." He replied, completely serious. "They're too dangerous to leave together, so they'll be separated until they're no longer a threat."

No longer a threat. But with our bionics, and with Agent Graham believing that we were nothing more than 'weapons of mass destruction', we were always going to be considered threatening.

"What does that mean?" Bree demanded, looking at the agent.

"It means you're never going to see each other again." Mr. Davenport informed us. We all looked at each other, the realization that this might be the last time we're together sinking in.

** Calla's POV **

"…And that's why Krane cloaked himself as the girl and posted the video!" Leo explained to Perry. After discovering Krane's plan, Leo, Douglas and I had come back to the school to figure out or next move.

"He knew the feds would take Adam, Bree, and Chase out of the picture." I added. Perry nodded.

"Okay, just one question." She said. "At any point during your dealings with this Krane guy did my name come up?"

We all exchanged confused looks. "No." Douglas replied. Perry nodded, then started pushing us towards the door.

"Then get out of my school!" She ordered. We dug our feet into the ground, refusing to leave.

"Stop!" Leo exclaimed. "Look, we need to tell someone about Krane! It may not free our family, but maybe the feds can stop him."

Douglas nodded. "Leo's right. We can't waste anymore time."

"Totally agree." Perry nodded eagerly. "Dooley, Parker, you two go back to the house. Douglas and I are going to hunker down in a remote cabin."

Leo and I exchanged glances as she turned to Douglas. "Very remote. Where no one will hear your screams."

Douglas looked like he was about to make a different suggestion, but stopped when the school doors suddenly swung open. We spun around, expecting the feds. Instead, we got something much, much worse.

Krane.

"There you are." He mused, walking in. He smirked at the looks on our faces. "It's always the last place you look, isn't it?"

Perry walked forward, not recognizing the monster in front of us. "If you're the new health inspector, the money's in an envelope marked 'art supplies'." She told him. I glanced at Leo, the looked back at Perry.

"That's Krane." I informed her. She reacted instantly, pushing Leo and I ahead of her.

"Take the defenceless children! But leave me the dreamboat of a man!" She begged. Douglas walked away from her, coming up behind me and Leo.

"How did you find us?" he demanded, glaring at his old partner.

"I've had someone keeping tabs on you." Krane replied. "S-1!"

The dark haired girl from the video walked in, eyes focused on us.

"Wait, so that wasn't you in the cloak?" Leo demanded. "There really is a girl?"

The girl, S-1, smirked. "Sure is." She replied. "Ever been beaten up by one?"

"Do I need to answer that question?" Leo asked. Krane smirked and looked at Douglas.

"S-1 is no mere girl. She's a genetically engineered super soldier."

"She's bionic too?" Douglas questioned. Krane smirked.

"You should be proud. Your technology has come in very handy. I've also upgraded your triton app, so I can control her abilities directly from my brain."

My eyes widened and I looked back at the girl. She grinned arrogantly at me, eyes flashing green.

"Wait, even if she's bionic, she'd have a heat signature." I pointed out.

"It's one of her many abilities." Krane informed us. "She can manipulate her body temperature to adapt to her surroundings."

Why didn't I think of that? That would have been an awesome ability to add to my bionic upgrades!

"Where's this going Krane?" Douglas growled. "What's your plan?"

Krane chuckled. "The world will find out soon enough, but you won't."

He raised a hand, blue energy glowing. Leo leapt to one side while I dived to the other. Douglas backed up as Perry hit the fire alarm. The loud alarm started blasting throughout the building. "Ha! The fire department will be here any minute!" She shouted, much to Douglas' joy. Krane didn't seem worried though.

"Good. Then they can clean up the mess." He declared before blasting both Perry and Douglas with his lightning fingers. They hit the ground, out cold.

"No!" Leo shouted. I stared with wide, stunned eyes. S-1 looked at Krane.

"Can I take care of these two?" she asked, gesturing at Leo and I.

"Of course, just make it hurt." He replied. I froze, my feet refusing to move, while Leo tried to make a run for it. S-1 raised her hand and he was suddenly surrounded by a blue plasma ball, unable to move.

I watched in horror as she shot a plasma ball at a large beam above Leo. She shot another ball at the other end of the beam and it broke off, crashing down onto Leo's exact position.

"Leo!" I shouted, eyes wide. I started towards him, but froze when S-1 turned to me. I gulped. I was weaponless and completely defenceless. And this girl was not holding back.

"Please. Don't do anything you'll regret." I said to her, starting to back up. She smirked.

"Oh, I won't regret this." She assured me. Her hands lit up, another plasma ball appearing. I saw her smirk before she threw it at me.

The pain blow sent me flying backwards, towards the large bench sitting in the middle of the lobby. I felt my head connect with something hard, then nothing.

** Douglas' POV **

I groaned, forcing my eyes open. The first thing I noticed was the intense pain in my ribcage, as if they were on fire. The second thing I realized was that there was a very heavy principal lying on top of me.

"Are you okay?" Principal Perry asked, clearly having just woken up herself. I groaned in pain.

"Well, I'm alive." I muttered. "But I'm pretty sure I broke some ribs. Mostly because you're on top of me."

She quickly rolled off of me and got up. "Sorry." She apologized as I slowly got to my feet, holding my chest. I looked around, hoping to find the kids. I glanced at the large, broken beam lying in front of the door, then saw the crumpled heap lying near the bench. Calla.

"Oh crap." I muttered, slowly walking over to her. She was lying on her side, eyes closed. The only reason I was sure she was alive was because of the faint rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. I knelt down beside her and shook her shoulder. "Hey kid. Wake up."

She didn't even budge. I shook her again, but there was no response. I slipped my hand under her head, trying to find a bruise when I felt something wet and sticky. Oh, damn. "Hey kid, wake up!"

Again, she didn't move. Suddenly, I heard a shout.

"Help!" My head shot towards the beam, eyes widening.

"Dooley!" Principal Perry exclaimed as we ran over. Leo was on his back, one hand on top of the beam, the other arm completely trapped underneath.

"My arm's pinned underneath the beam." He cried, clearly in a lot of pain. I bent down to try and lift the beam enough for him to pull his arm out, but the second I started to pull, the excruciating pain in my ribs forced me to stop. After my second failed attempt, Principal Perry pushed me out of the way.

"I've got this, Dougy. I once lifted a car off a guy's leg." She told me. "It was the least I can do since I ran him over."

I glanced at her for a brief second before my eyes returned to Leo. Perry knelt down and tried to lift it, but the beam wouldn't budge. "It's hard to get a grip." She complained. "My hands keep slipping on what I hope is red paint."

Leo's eyes widened in horror and he looked back at where his arm was trapped. Suddenly, the sound of sirens grew louder than the fire alarm. I looked outside and saw the massive red truck.

"The firemen are here. I'll go get them." I told them, more for Leo's benefit than Perry's and ran outside.

"The fire alarm was pulled." One of the men said, jogging up to me. I pointed at the school.

"There was an accident." I explained. "We have two injured kids, one of which is trapped under a fallen beam."

The man nodded and ordered his men inside. Meanwhile, I pulled out my phone. I couldn't call Tasha or the house; the feds were likely still there. But I had to call someone. After a second, I made my decision and dialled the number.

** Chase's POV **

"I can't believe they're going to throw us in solitary confinement." Bree murmured to Adam and I. We were sitting on the couch, closely monitored by several agents. Agent Graham was still going through his report, and Mr. Davenport and Tasha were speaking in the corner by the fridge.

Suddenly, the front door opened. In walked Officer Parker, escorted by two government agents. She was wearing her police uniform and looked very agitated.

"Mrs. Parker?" I questioned, frowning. Could she be here to help us in someway? My single, hopeful thought dissolved when she looked at me. Her gaze was cold, not the kind gaze that she'd given me so many times before when I'd come over for dinner or to hang with Calla.

"And you are?" Agent Graham questioned walking over.

"Officer Nicole Parker of the Mission Creek Police Department." Calla's mom replied. He nodded and shook her hand.

"Ah yes. We spoke over the phone." He nodded. "I thought I made it clear that the government was handling this. No local police involved."

"I'm not here about the…" she trailed off, glancing at us. "About them. I'm here to speak with Mrs. Davenport."

"What's the matter, Nicole?" Tasha questioned. "Is something wrong with Calla?"

My head whipped towards the police officer, hoping that Tasha was wrong. "I just received a call from someone named Douglas." Officer Parker replied. "He told me that there was an accident at the school. Both our children have been brought to the hospital."

"What?" I demanded, eyes wide. Calla and Leo were hurt? How? "Are they okay?"

Officer Parker ignored me. "Oh my god, is my baby alright?" Tasha demanded, jumping to her feet.

"I don't know." Officer Parker replied. Tasha started heading towards the door, the rest of us moving to follow her, but Agent Graham stopped all of us.

"Where do you think you're going?" He demanded.

"The hospital." Bree replied. "Our brother and one of our best friends are hurt. We have to go."

Agent Graham looked at Tasha. "We have no reason to keep you here. You may go." He looked at us. "But only you."

"But-" I started to object, but Agent Graham shook his head.

"You're staying." He ordered, his tone serious. Tasha gave us an apologetic look, then looked at Officer Parker.

"Let's go." She said, both women walking out. The rest of us glared at Agent Graham.

"You have to let us go to the hospital to see Calla and Leo!" I begged. Horrific images of them being hurt flashed across my mind.

"Yeah, we don't even know what happened to them!" Bree pleaded.

"They're injured and this isn't funny like all the times I hurt Chase!" Adam agreed. Agent Graham wasn't convinced.

"You're not going anywhere." He told us. "A military transport will be here any second. You've seen the last of your friends. And each other."

We looked at each other as Mr. Davenport tried to convince Agent Graham. "Please, don't take them. Take me. I'm obviously the brilliant mastermind, the brains behind the brawn, the smart behind the heart."

Bree rolled her eyes. "Even when he's begging, he finds a way to gloat." She commented.

"Go ahead, ask me anything." Mr. Davenport continued. "I bet you're wondering how a forty-three year old continues to defy Father Time."

Agent Graham wasn't amused. "This is happening, whether you like it or not." He told Mr. Davenport. "And for the record, Father Time caught up with you long before we did."

Mr. Davenport stared at him offended. Bree looked at me. "Hey, do you think they're alright?"

I bit my lip, not having an answer for her. Adam saw the look on my face. "I'm sure they are." He assured us both. "Leo's kinda lucky when it comes to avoiding serious injury and Calla's the toughest girl we know."

Bree nodded, smiling gratefully at him, but I was still uncertain. All I knew was that I should be at that hospital, making sure my brother and the love of my life were both okay, rather than sitting here waiting for a stupid military transport to come take us away.

** Calla's POV **

_ Knock, knock _

I glanced up when I heard the soft knocking on my hospital room door. "Come in."

I assumed it would be my mom, but instead it was Douglas. He looked kinda crappy, with thick white bandages wrapped around his torso. "I heard you were awake." He commented, closing the door behind him. He gestured at the bandages wrapped around my head. "You okay?"

I grimaced. "No, I've got a pounding headache and I feel like I'm going to be sick any minute." I replied irritably. "I got a few stitches, but the concussion's the worst part."

"It could have been worse." Douglas reminded me. I nodded, a concerned look on my face.

"Yeah, how's Leo?" I asked. "One of the nurses said that he hurt his arm pretty badly when that beam landed on it."

"They said he's not going to be able to use his arm again." He told me grimly. I blinked a couple of times, feeling sorry for Leo. He didn't deserve that.

Douglas continued after a moment. "I think I might be able to fix that." He said softly.

"What?" I demanded, looking at him. "How?"

"It's a long story, but I need to get him out of here to do it." He told me. "Are you in?"

I hesitated. Sneaking out of a hospital? "Are you sure you can help Leo?" I questioned uncertainly.

"One hundred percent." He replied. I sighed and climbed out of the hospital bed.

"Alright. Let's go." I agreed.

** Chase's POV **

I twiddled my thumbs nervously, glancing at the door every other second. I was trying so hard not to think about what was going on; how I was about to be ripped away from my family, how Calla and Leo were in the hospital and I had no idea if they were going to be alright. But thoughts of them being seriously injured and of me never seeing Adam, Bree, Tasha, or Mr. Davenport again wouldn't leave me alone.

Suddenly, the door opened and Agent Graham walked in. "Transport's here." He announced.

Adam shot up right away, grinning. "Shotgun!" he called. An agent leapt on top of him, pinning him to the ground. I almost smiled in amusement at the scene.

"You know, every now and then life just gives you a little gift." I commented to Mr. Davenport as Adam got up.

Agent Graham looked at us. "Hurry up and say your goodbyes." He ordered. Bree and I got up from the couch and the four of us looked at each other.

"I can't believe this." Bree murmured. "We're never going to see each other again!"

There were unshed tears glistening in her eyes. Mr. Davenport was quick to try and reassure her.

"You guys are going to be okay." He told us all soothingly. I sighed.

"You don't know that." I told him.

"I know, that's just something you say!" He defended himself. "What do you want me to tell you? 'You're doomed'? I mean, obviously they're going to conduct experiments on you with probes and-"

"Okay, okay." Bree cut him off before he could continue. "We get it."

He sighed. "Look, I know I didn't give you guys a normal childhood, but I hope I at least gave you a happy one."

"Of course you did." I replied. Bree nodded.

"We can't imagine having a better dad." She agreed. Adam thought about it.

"Well, I can." He commented. "A guy who's half Tom Brady, half golden retriever. I call him Golden Brady."

Mr. Davenport sighed at Adam's idiocy. "I love you guys." He said, pulling us in for one last hug. Agent Graham had to ruin it.

"Alright, that's enough! Get them out of here!" He ordered. Adam pulled away and looked at him.

"You know what? No. You can't do this." He said. "I'm not going."

Agent Graham wasn't pleased. "You heard me! Move!"

"I said no!" Adam snapped back. An agent tried to grab him, but he just pushed him away. "Get off of me!"

"Get the tranquilizer gun!" Agent Graham ordered one of his men. Mr. Davenport leapt in front of us, trying to shield us from harm. But I wouldn't let him get hurt either. Using my telekinesis, I threw the tranquilizer gun pointed at us across the room. "That's it! Take them all down!"

Suddenly, Adam grabbed my arm, shoving me behind him. He did the same with Mr. Davenport and Bree, then used his blast wave. We ducked and watched as the blast hit every agent in the room, knocking them to the ground.

"What now?" Bree questioned, looking at the men.

"RUN!" I shouted at her, already sprinting out of the house.

** Calla's POV **

"So, what's this big plan of yours?" I questioned as I helped Douglas strap Leo to the massive chair. We were in one of Krane's old hideouts, the one Leo, Tasha and I had previously been held captive in.

"I'm going to use bionics to heal Leo's arm." Douglas replied, already starting up one of the computers. I stared at him, wide-eyed.

"You're going to give Leo bionics?" I gasped. Douglas nodded.

"Yeah, I've got some plans for abilities, like super-strength and laser spheres. I might as well give him those. It's not much, but at least it's something." He replied. Suddenly, I remembered something. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a USB drive. I tossed it to Douglas.

"Could you give him these?" I asked. He glanced at the USB drive, then at me. "Seriously, check them out."

He plugged the USB into the computer and opened up the files for my bionic upgrades. He nodded after a moment. "Now I see why Donny picked you as his assistant. These aren't half bad."

"You think?" I asked. He nodded.

"I can't give him invisibility or telepathy because the bionics are only in his arm, but I can definitely add your pyrokinesis upgrade to the mix."

I grinned, glad that I could help with Leo's bionics. He'd always wanted some and he really deserved them too. Douglas started his work, while I looked around the building. The place was disgusting really; full of dirt and something foul smelling. But then a large pile of scrap metal and parts caught my eye.

"Hey kid?" Douglas called as I sifted through the parts. "Listen, if we have to go up against Krane again, you can't fight him without some sort of weapon."

I nodded, fiddling with what looked like a plasma generator, except it was the size of a quarter rather than two feet tall. "Do you have any suggestions?" I asked.

"I could give you bionics."

I slowly turned around in my seat to face him. "Are you kidding me?" I asked, a little surprised that he'd suggest that.

"I'm dead serious." He replied. I hesitated before answering. Bionics. They were dangerous, but wicked cool. I'd seen everything Adam, Bree, and Chase could do with them.

"I…no." I shook my head. "I want to stay non-bionic."

"Why?" Douglas questioned, confused.

"They're cool, I admit. But I'm not a fighter. I completely panicked today when faced against S-1 and Krane." I told him. Douglas gave me a sympathetic look.

"It's alright to be scared every once in a while, Calla." He told me. I nodded as I continued to go through the pile of junk. I pulled a hand gun out of the pile.

"I know, but…look, my life is crazy. I'm working for a mad scientist, all of my friends – now including Leo – have super powers, and a psychopath tried to kill me. I need some normalcy in my life if I'm going to stay sane."

"I get it." Douglas nodded. I smiled at him.

"Thanks for the offer though." I looked at the gun. "Okay, why does Krane need a handgun if he's bionic?"

Douglas shrugged unhelpfully. "I don't even think the thing's loaded."

I checked the gun and found that he was right. "No ammo, seriously? There goes my idea of using to…" Suddenly, an idea hit me. "I'll be right back. Going to go find some tools."

"There's some in the other room." Douglas offered. I nodded gratefully, then stood up and headed into the other room, still carrying the plasma generator and the handgun. This room was cleaner, with a nice work table and a tool kit. I sat down at the table, and then used a screwdriver to take the gun apart.

Douglas came in a few seconds later. "Leo's bionics should be done soon and his arm's already healing."

I smiled. "Thank god." I looked back at the gloves, then at the plasma generator. Suddenly, I got an idea. "Hey, is there any ammo around here? Bullets or even blanks will work."

"We should, why?" Douglas asked, frowning. I smirked.

"You said I couldn't fight Krane without a weapon. Fine. I'm gonna make a weapon." I replied. Douglas raised an eyebrow, but left to go check the closet. While he was gone, I quickly took the gun apart and inserted the plasma generator. I was glad to have something to do. After everything that had happened today, a distraction from all the bad stuff was just what I needed.

Douglas came back as I was finishing up. "Okay, I found some blanks, but you do realize that they won't kill, right?" He asked, handing a small box to me. I loaded the blanks into the gun and stood up.

"Oh, trust me. This is going to be pretty dangerous." I warned him. "You might want to back up though. This might blow up in my face. Literally."

He did as I asked as I chose my target. There was a pile of metal barrels in the corner, so I chose those. I aimed, then pulled the trigger. A small, lavender plasma ball flew from the gun and hit the barrels so hard they crashed to the ground.

Douglas' eyes widened. "You just built a plasma gun."

I didn't answer at first, instead taking a couple of more shots at the barrel.

"Who needs bionics?" I questioned after a minute, a wide smirk on my face. Okay, maybe I was acting a little cocky about it, but I didn't actually expect that to work.

Douglas chuckled, but before he could say anything, we heard Leo start to shout in the other room.

"HELP! HELP! SOMEBODY HELP! PLEASE!" He was screaming when we entered the room. Douglas ran to his side, trying to calm him down.

"Leo, calm down. Calm down." He patted the shorter boy's shoulder comfortingly. Leo looked at us with wide eyes, still freaking out.

"Where is he?" he demanded. "Where is Krane?"

"He abandoned this place a while ago. The guy's got hideouts everywhere." Douglas explained as Leo looked around frantically. "You should see his torture chamber in palm beach. It's gorgeous."

"He has a torture chamber?" I questioned. Leo looked at me.

"Hey Calla." He offered me a small smile as he finally started to calm down. I smiled back at him. He looked back at his arm, still strapped to the chair and in bandages. "Wait, why am I strapped down? Why are we here?"

"I had to bring you here. It's the only place I knew with the necessary equipment." Douglas explained as he released the straps around Leo's arm.

"Equipment for what?" Leo demanded. I smiled.

"Take the bandage off." I instructed. Leo looked at me, then at Douglas who gave him a reassuring nod. Still hesitant, Leo did as he was told. He ripped the bandage away, then stared in disbelief at his perfectly, undamaged arm. It looked just like it did before he was hurt.

"It's completely healed." He said, bending it as if he expected it not to move. "But how?"

Douglas smiled, crossing his arms. "Go ahead, pretend like you're throwing a baseball."

Leo narrowed his eyes at him. "Is this really the time to make fun of how uncoordinated I am?" he asked. Douglas rolled his eyes.

"Just do it." He ordered. Leo sighed, pulled his arm back, then swung it forward. A small ball of fire flew from it, hitting a large barrel and knocking it to the ground.

Leo stared at his hand, not understanding what was going on. "What did you do?" he questioned. Douglas smiled and put his hand on Leo's shoulder.

"Congratulations Leo. You're bionic." Douglas replied. Leo stared at his hand for a bit, then looked at me.

"Am I dreaming? Pinch me." He ordered. I shrugged, walked over to him, then pinched him in the arm.

"Ow!" he complained, looking at me. "What did you do that for?"

"You asked me to pinch you." I replied shrugging. He stared at me, then started to get out of the chair. Douglas stepped back to give him room, pulled out a chair, and sat down. I backed up as well, but more out of concern for my safety than anything else. I mean, we gave Leo the ability to control fire – that was a disaster waiting to happen. Why did I think it was a good idea?

Leo grinned at me. "Check this out." He said before shooting another fireball. This one went right over Douglas' head, the man ducking just in time to avoid it.

"Easy!" Douglas exclaimed, patting his hair to make sure Leo hadn't burned it. "You almost toasted my tips!"

Leo laughed. "Sorry, I just can't believe I'm bionic!"

Douglas shrugged. "Doctors said you'd never be able to use your arm again and I wasn't about to let that happen, so I used bionic components to save it."

Leo bent his arm back and forth and an odd clicking sound could be heard. "What's that clicking noise?" he questioned. Douglas looked around.

"Oh, I might have left my pen in there." He muttered. Leo and I both looked at him.

"So, I just have the fire balls, or is there more?" Leo asked after a minute.

"It's call pyrokinesis." I muttered. Douglas gestured at me.

"The pyrokinesis was Calla's work, but I added some self defence upgrades seeing as you're pretty much the weak link." He told Leo. Leo looked offended.

"I'm the weak link?" he repeated. "What about Calla?"

I held up my new plasma gun. "I'm not the weak link. I'm Queen Badass."

Douglas rolled his eyes at our bickering. "Your fingers can generate laser spheres and the arm's got bionic strength, so you might want to shake hands lefty from now on. Or maybe just curtsey." He suggested. I beamed.

"Yes, go with the curtsey." I encouraged. Leo gave me a strange look, then decided against saying anything.

"This is awesome!" He exclaimed, arms out. A fire ball flew from his right hand, this time brushing the top of Douglas' hair. He stood up, smoke coming from his head.

"And there go the tips." He muttered, looking rather upset.

** Chase's POV **

I don't know how long Adam and I hid under that sheet. Honestly, we didn't really think our plan through. We had no idea what rooms numbers Calla and Leo were in, and we couldn't go up and ask in case the feds showed up at the hospital looking for us.

So we waited for a very, very long time until Tasha was close enough for us to ask her. Adam suggested asking Officer Parker at one point, but I didn't think it was such a good idea. The way she looked at us back at the house…I had the feeling that she was on the side of the government in this case.

Eventually though, we heard a familiar voice. "Yay! New water bowl for the kitties!"

"Perry!" Adam hissed. For once, I was actually happy to hear her voice.

"Aw, poor guy. I wonder if there's any jewellery." She said as Adam pushed part of the sheet off. Perry screamed and started attacking us with something hard. "Zombie!"

"Ow! Ow! Stop it! Ow! It's us!" Adam exclaimed as we lifted out heads out of under the sheets. She stepped back, a relieved look on her face.

"Thank goodness." She breathed, then her glare returned. "Why did you scare me like that?" she demanded, hitting us with a bedpan.

"Stop!" I shouted. "Stop, stop." She did as I asked. "Look, we don't have much time; Mr. Davenport and Bree are hiding outside. How's Calla? And Leo?"

Both Adam and I looked at her desperately, praying for good news. She sighed. "Well, we thought they were going to be okay, but then…we lost both of them."

My heart stopped then, my eyes widening in disbelief. No! That couldn't be true! Calla and Leo couldn't be dead, I just couldn't lose them.

"What?" Adam demanded, sounding as horrified as I was. Perry must have picked up on that, because she quickly amended her sentence.

"Sorry, they're no dead, just missing." She assured us. Both Adam and I sighed in relief. Thank God. I didn't know what I'd do without her…and Leo of course.

"We think Krane took them." Perry continued, much to our shock. "So, fifty-fifty."

I stared at her. "Wait, Krane is behind all of this?" I demanded. She nodded. "We have to find Calla and Leo."

Suddenly, Perry looked over into the other hall. "5-O, 5-O." She hissed, covering us with the sheet.

She stepped back and after a moment, we heard her greet someone in a false-cheerful voice. "Hi."

"M'am." The sound of Agent Graham's voice made me freeze. "Have you seen a pasty middle-aged man travelling with three kids?"

"Can't say that I have." I silently thanked Perry for helping us. "But I'll help you look."

"Oh, um…" Agent Graham sounded like he was looking for a way to escape. "Coming!"

I could hear a pair of retreating footsteps, then Perry laughed. "Works every time."

I was about to remove the sheet once more, but stopped when I heard another voice.

"Principal Perry!" That was Calla's mom.

"Hello Officer Parker, what can I do for you?" Perry was always unusually nice around police officers.

"Have they found Calla or Leo?" I heard Officer Parker ask.

"Not yet." Perry replied. "I'm sure they're alright. How much trouble can they get into?"

"You clearly don't know my daughter very well if you have to ask that. It seems like Calla goes looking for trouble half the time." Officer Parker muttered. I smirked, not entirely disagreeing with her. "What about the Davenports? The three bionics? Agent Graham just informed me that they'd escaped."

"I haven't seen them." Perry lied.

"The entire department's been ordered to help find them. I have to leave." There was regret in Officer Parker's voice. "If you see any of those kids, contact me immediately. And if you find Calla, have her call me."

"Will do." Perry agreed. I heard Officer Parker's footsteps heading down the hall.

"Great." I muttered. "Now my girlfriend's mom is trying to capture us too."

"Quiet down!" Perry hissed, hitting us with the bedpan again. Adam and I looked at each other and we made a silent decision. Krane had to be stopped. And we, along with Bree and Mr. Davenport, were going to be the ones to stop him.

** Calla's POV **

"Come on Douglas, we should get out of here." Leo urged. I nodded.

"Krane could come back." I agreed. Douglas waved us off.

"Just give me five more minutes." He told us, going through the papers on the work desk. "I just want to find some evidence that will get Krane locked up for good."

He looked under the work desk and suddenly gasped. "AHA!" He exclaimed, pulling out a rolled up piece of paper. "Blueprints."

Leo and I looked at the blue prints excitedly, but the smiles fell from our faces when we saw what the blueprints were for. "Those are to add a second bathroom." Leo pointed out. Douglas cursed under his breath and tossed the blueprints away.

"Come on!" I grabbed Leo by the arm and turned around to pull him outside. Instead, we were faced with Krane and S-1.

"Ah!" The three of us jumped back in surprise. Krane looked at us, looking slightly annoyed.

"What is it going to take to finally get rid of you?" he growled. Douglas, Leo, and I exchanged looks.

"Well, now that you mention it…we were just leaving." Douglas started to push me and Leo towards the door, but S-1 stopped us.

"Don't move." Krane ordered. My hand reached towards the plasma gun in my pocket. I was itching to try it out on a moving target and Krane would be the perfect one.

"How'd you find us?" Douglas questioned, glaring daggers at Krane. He chuckled in response.

"I'm always one step ahead of you." Krane replied. Leo smirked.

"Yeah, well I'd like to see you stay one step ahead of this." He raised his hand and shot a fireball. Unfortunately, Leo had never been very good at hand-eye coordination, so the fireball missed Krane by two feet. "Oops."

For once, Krane was caught off guard. "You gave the boy bionics too?" He questioned.

"Well it wasn't easy." Douglas replied. "You have to attach bionics to muscle and well…" he trailed off, gesturing at Leo. Leo looked at him offended.

"Let's do this already!" S-1 exclaimed impatiently. Leo looked at her.

"Alright, bring it cupcake. You're about to meet my new bionic friend." He declared, raising one arm.

"Other arm." I hissed. He switched arms.

"My new bionic friend." He repeated. Krane suddenly raised his hand and shot a fireball of his own at Douglas. This fireball was large, about the size of a basketball, and it sent Douglas flying across the room.

"Not the ribs again!" He cried, writhing in pain. "Would it kill you to spread the pain around?"

I looked at Leo. "S-1's all yours. I want Krane." I told him, before whipping out my gun and shooting at the psychopath.

Krane didn't even flinch. He just raised a hand and a force field appeared in front of him. My plasma balls bounced off harmlessly. "Is that all you've got, girl?" he questioned. He waved his hand and my weapon flew to the other side of the room. I gulped nervously.

"Yeah, pretty much." I replied. I started to run, but Krane grabbed me by the back of my shirt. He roughly threw me against the wall next to Douglas.

"Nice try kid." Douglas whispered to me. I looked over at Leo, who was clearly doing just as bad as the rest of us.

S-I had his arm (the non-bionic one) pinned up behind his back, stopping him from doing anything. He glared at her. "Try that with my right hand, I dare you." He growled. She rolled her eyes and threw him over beside us.

"I'm so sorry kids, this is all my fault." Douglas apologized. He looked at us expectantly.

"If you're waiting for an 'it's okay, don't worry about it' it's not coming." Leo snapped.

Suddenly, the door burst open. Adam, Bree, Chase and Mr. Davenport ran in. "Leo!" "Calla!" Mr. Davenport and Chase cried. Douglas looked at them, offended.

"And Douglas!" He exclaimed. Mr. Davenport glanced at us.

"Calla, Leo, are you okay?" he asked. We both nodded.

"I'm alright." "Not dead yet." We replied. Douglas looked at his brother.

"Doing fine here too, thanks." He said sarcastically. Chase's eyes locked on S-1.

"That's the girl who filmed us." He said. Mr. Davenport glared at Krane.

"Let them go." He ordered. Krane smirked.

"Oh, I'm not letting any of you go." He replied. They all got into fighting positions.

They were about to attack when Adam suddenly exclaimed "Wait!"

He walked up to S-1, then grinned. "I don't think we've met. I'm Adam." He held out his hand for her to shake.

"Seriously?" I muttered. S-1 didn't look amused though. She punched Adam in the chest, clearly using her super strength, and he was sent flying back across the room. Everyone else stared at the girl in surprise.

"She's bionic!" Chase realized.

"And has super strength." Bree added. Adam walked back over to his siblings.

"Hey, you wouldn't be interested in making a trade, would you?" Adam asked, gesturing at Chase, then at S-1. Chase rolled his eyes, then narrowed them at Krane.

"You sure you want to do this?" he asked. I sighed. It was just like Chase to give him a chance to run. "It's four against two. It hardly seems fair."

Krane just laughed. Leo and I stood up then and looked at Krane. No panicking this time. This time, we were going to fight. "You mean six against two." Leo corrected.

"Oh come on!" Douglas complained, standing behind one of the work benches. "What? Am I invisible here?"

Krane didn't hesitate for another moment. He raised his hands and a fiery version of Adam's blast wave exploded from his body. Everyone hit the floor, stunned from the blast. Krane looked at the others, then his gaze landed on Mr. Davenport.

"Why don't I start with you?" he asked, raising his hand. Suddenly, Mr. Davenport was pulled upwards by an invisible hand. He gasped weakly for breath as Krane used his telekinesis to choke him. After a second, Krane threw Mr. Davenport back onto the ground.

Adam, Bree, and Chase jumped to their feet and turned to face Krane and S-1. Adam glanced at S-1, then at his sister.

"Bree you got this?" He asked. Then, not waiting for an answer, replied. "Good, thanks."

Bree swung at S-1, but missed as the other girl did a flip backwards. Then engaged in a superspeed battle then. It was confusing to watch, and impossible to see who was winning.

Meanwhile, Krane faced Adam and Chase. They threw as many punches and back fists as possible at the man, but he managed to block, dodge, and counter every single swing. Adam swung at his head, only to get sucker-punched in the stomach. Chase tried a back fist, but Krane grabbed his wrist and kicked him hard. Then, using one of his lightning abilities, he threw the two away from him. He then grabbed then using his telekinesis, and pushed the two together. They fell to the ground with a groan.

I looked at Leo. "You help the boys, I'll help Bree?" I suggested. He nodded and I snuck away to grab my weapon. The entire time I was watching the fight between both super speeders with quick eyes, trying to make out the different moves.

Bree threw a punch at S-1, but the other girl stopped it and grabbed Bree's arm. "Too bad this is the last time I'll see you guys. Your brother's kind of cute." She commented. Bree pulled away and punched S-1 in the stomach.

"Adam?" she questioned. They engaged in another super speed fight. When they broke away, S-1 was grinning.

"No, the other one." She replied. I stopped, my hand inches away from my weapon. Hold up. Did she just call Chase cute? I was the only one allowed to do that!

Bree tried to kick S-1 and they fought some more. At some point in the fight, Bree pushed S-1 away, then looked at her as if she was crazy. "Chase? I thought Calla was the only one crazy enough to find him attractive!"

"Thanks Bree." I muttered, grabbing my weapon just as S-1 swept her foot out from underneath my best friend. Bree landed on her stomach, a groan escaping her lips.

S-1 stood above her, about to finish her off. I aimed my gun, but apparently, Leo wanted to finish her off himself.

"Now I've got her!" He exclaimed, throwing one of his fireballs. He missed, but hit Krane in the face. The psycho hit the ground hard. Adam, Bree, Chase, and Mr. Davenport stared him in shock. He just grinned. "Okay, I'll take it."

"Mr. Krane!" S-1 shouted, a little stunned. I took advantage of the opportunity. I pulled the trigger on my plasma gun. The plasma ball hit S-1 in the shoulder, knocking her to the ground. She hit her head on the way down, unconscious.

Every one in the room – except for Krane and S-1 – was staring at Leo. "Did you see what Leo did?" Chase gasped. Adam nodded.

"Yeah, when did Leo learn how to throw?" Adam demanded. Mr. Davenport looked at Douglas.

"I can't believe you gave bionics to Leo!" He exclaimed. Douglas looked at his brother.

"Well it saved your life!" He snapped back. Mr. Davenport looked like he was about to completely panic.

"No it didn't! Tasha's gonna kill me!" He exclaimed. Suddenly, men starting running in the door. We all backed up, Chase's hands wrapping around my waist and pulling me to him. I stared in shock as Agent Graham and my own mother stormed in.

"Alright boys, round them up." Agent Graham ordered. "Use your tranquilizer guns if you have to."

"No!" A small cry escaped me and I hugged Chase tighter. I looked at my mom, tears in my eyes, as I silently begged her not to take Chase away from me. Chase's grip on me tightened as he planted a soft kiss on my forehead.

"Wait!" Douglas exclaimed, stopping the agents. "You're arresting the wrong people."

He pointed at Krane. "This is the man you want. Victor Krane, he's a sociopath who's been implanting himself with bionics. And now he's turned her," he gestured at S-1, "into a bionic soldier. If you don't stop him now, he could create more and have an entire army."

Agent Graham considered it, then looked at Douglas. "And you are?"

Douglas smirked. "Douglas Davenport. There's no official record of me because I faked my own death."

I shook my head. Dude, that's not something you want to be bragging about. Mr. Davenport gave Douglas a symbol to stop talking and he seemed to realize his mistake. "But I'm very credible." He added.

Agent Graham sighed. "Alright. Take them into custody."

Suddenly, Krane jumped up, looking quite furious. "I don't think so!" He exclaimed, shooting a fireball at Agent Graham and my mom.

Bree sped forward and pulled both of them out of the way in time to save them. Adam spun around and shot his heat vision at Krane, putting him out of commission.

"You saved us." Agent Graham said, looking at Bree. He glanced at the rest of us. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Bree replied. "Like we keep telling you, we help people."

Bree walked back over to us and got a small hug from Adam and a smile from Chase. Agent Graham looked at Krane and S-1.

"Restrain these two before they wake up." He ordered. Douglas shoved a pair of large, glowing handcuffs into Agent Graham's hands.

"Here. Use these to cuff them. They've got a bionic signal interrupter." He explained. My mom looked at him as Agent Graham handed the cuffs off to his agents.

"Why would you have these?" she asked. Douglas hesitated.

"Uh…I help people too." He replied. My mom gave him a look that clearly said she didn't believe him.

"What about them?" One of the agents asked. Before Agent Graham could reply, my mom grabbed his arm.

"Agent Graham, can I have a word?" she requested. He frowned, but nodded and both of them headed outside.

"And now we're right back where we started. About to be arrested." Bree muttered. Chase sighed, then looked at me.

"You should go." He advised. I frowned.

"What? Go where?" I question, not understanding.

"Go with your mom or something." He insisted. "You might not get in trouble if you leave."

"I'm not leaving." I replied firmly, my decision already made. Chase glanced at the agents, who still had their tranquilizer guns out.

"Calla, these guys will not hesitate to use their weapons on you, whether or not you're the police chief's daughter." He told me. "I'm not going to see you get hurt…again." He added, gesturing at the bandages around my head.

I sighed. "Chase…" I shook my head, a faint smile on my face. "I love you and I love how you're always trying to protect me, but there's no way in hell I'm going to let that monster take you away."

Chase opened his mouth to say something, but stopped. "Chase?" I said hesitantly, worried that something was wrong. He smiled at me.

"You…You love me?" he breathed, his voice barely above a whisper. I smirked.

"Well, duh." I replied. He chuckled.

"I love you too." He murmured before pressing his lips to mine. One of the best things about kissing Chase was how the rest of the world seemed to fade away, as if they no longer mattered. We were so caught up in each other's love that we didn't notice my mom and Agent Graham re-enter the room.

"Ahem." I pulled away at the sound of my mother's voice. I ducked my head, blushing. "Are you two finished?" She asked, looking at us with a sparkle of amusement in her eyes.

"Yes m'am." Chase muttered, hands still on my waist. She nodded.

"Good. You're all free to go." She announced. We stared at her, but this didn't seem to be a trick. The agents started to leave, dragging both Krane and S-1 out with them.

"Are…are you serious?" Bree asked, eyes wide. Agent Graham nodded.

"Yes. There are…conditions." He told us. "But you're free to go home and be with your family and…friends." He added. He looked at Mr. Davenport. "We'll be speaking later."

He walked out without another word. My mom looked at me. "I'll be waiting in the car."

She nodded respectfully at Mr. Davenport, then left. "We're seriously free to go?" Bree asked again, as if she couldn't believe it. I didn't think any of us could.

"I…guess so." Mr. Davenport grinned. He led us outside, the rest of us still tense in case it was a trap. But the only cars within view were my mom's police cruiser and Mr. Davenport van.

"I can't believe this." Chase murmured, eyes alit with relief and happiness.

"They're letting us go." Adam had the same tone of disbelief in his voice. Bree nodded.

"We're free." She agreed. I smirked.

"Well, I would suggest a party, but I have the feeling I might be grounded for escaping the hospital." I told them. Chase sighed.

"You know what today is, don't you?" He asked me. I nodded.

"Our anniversary." I replied. He nodded.

"I wanted to make it special. Something you'd never forget." He murmured.

"Chase, I seriously doubt I'm ever going to forget today." I pointed out. He gave me a look. "But it's sweet that you wanted to make it special."

"I got you a present." He told me. I smiled.

"So did I. It's in my backpack…which come to think about it, is still in the lab." I remembered. He nodded. "I've got an idea."

"What's that?" He asked. I smiled.

"We can't really do anything tonight, so why don't we have a make-up anniversary date tomorrow?" I suggested. He nodded.

"If you're not grounded." He reminded me. I smirked.

"I'll sneak out if I have to." I replied. He chuckled. "I really do need to go now."

"Yeah, I know. Come over later though." He requested. I nodded and he kissed me again. "I love you."

"I love you too." I whispered back before heading off to the car. I climbed into the passenger seat and watched as the Davenports drove away.

My mom turned to me. "How's your head? Do you want me to stop at the drug store to get some Advil?"

I shook my head. "Mom, what did you say to Agent Graham?" I asked, confused. She smiled and started up the car.

"I told him that there must be a better way to utilise their abilities than locking them up." She replied. I frowned.

"So you suggested that he just use them like weapons?" I questioned. She glanced at me.

"It was the best I could come up with. What did you want me to say? 'Hey, can you let the bionics kids go because my daughter is dating one of them'?"

I thought about it. "You have to admit, his reaction to that would be hilarious." I commented. She sighed.

"Yes, I guess it would be." She agreed. I looked down at my hands.

"I'm sorry for lying to you. And for being so rude this morning." I apologized.

"And for sneaking out the hospital?" Mom questioned. I nodded, grinning sheepishly.

"Yeah, that too." I agreed. Mom sighed.

"Alright, I understand why you kept your friends' secret. And maybe I was a little too hasty to judge them. But no more lies and no more secrets, am I clear?" She asked. I nodded. "Good."

"Thanks Mom." I grinned at her. She smiled back.

"But you're still grounded for lying and running away from the hospital." She reminded me.

"Yeah, I know." I sighed.

** Xxx **

It had been two days since Krane was arrested and so far, things had been weird. No was going to school at the moment. Mr. Davenport insisted that Adam, Bree, and Chase stay home due to their new fame as bionic superhumans, and since being their brother would put Leo in the spotlight at school, he was staying home as well.

As for me, my mom practically ordered me to stay home and rest due to my head injury. I'd taken the week off work as well, because the almost constant headache was making it difficult to focus on my inventions.

Agent Graham had kept his word about letting Adam, Bree, and Chase go free. Aside from a couple of visits, and the press conference that they were all at now, the agent had mostly left them alone.

Chase and I had gone out the night before, as a make-up date and it was incredible. I mean, sure people kept staring at us while we were in the restaurant, but we managed to ignore them. I'd given Chase his gift – a brand new watch – and he'd loved it. Almost as much as I adored my new necklace. It was a simple silver chain with a red ruby heart on it. It was the prettiest and nicest thing anyone's ever given me.

Anyway, at the moment, Leo, Douglas (who was still recovering from breaking a couple of ribs) and I were sitting on the couch at the Davenport's. Adam, Bree, Chase, and Mr. Davenport were at the press conference that we were all waiting for.

Tasha shook her head in disbelief, examining Leo's arm. "That beam weighed hundreds of pounds and there's not even a scar. How is that possible?"

"Well, first I used a-" Douglas began. I kicked him in the shin and motioned for him to shut up.

"I moisturize." Leo lied to his mom. She raised an eyebrow at that, but didn't question it. Suddenly, there was a knocking on the door. While Tasha went to answer it, Leo and I looked at Douglas.

"She will freak out. Do not tell her I'm bionic." Leo ordered. Douglas nodded and we looked to see who was at the door.

"Principal Perry, come on in." Tasha greeted with a warm smile. "And for the first time, I actually mean it."

We smiled at Perry as she walked in. According to both my mom and Tasha, she'd actually been pretty concerned about us when we went missing from the hospital. Apparently, nearly dying together makes us bonded. Or something like that.

"I just came to check on my little fella." She said with a smile. Leo grinned and started to stand up.

"Aww, that's nice-" "Not you." Perry cut him off, pushing him back on the couch. She sat down between Leo and Douglas, smiling at the man.

"This little fella!" She exclaimed, rubbing his hair. Douglas looked absolutely terrified as Perry started to go through a bag that she'd brought with her. "I brought you a gift from the hospital to make you feel better."

She pulled out a large, yellow balloon. Douglas read the words on the front. "'Get well Grandma'?" He questioned.

"Yeah, it didn't work for her, but maybe it will bring you some luck."

Suddenly, the television screen changed. "The press conference is starting!" Tasha announced, turning the volume up.

The screen showed Adam, Bree, and Chase in their mission suits, standing behind Agent Graham and Mr. Davenport.

" _The rumours you've been hearing are true."_ Agent Graham announced.  _"There are bionic humans living among us. But after a thorough investigation I, Agent Graham – that's with an H – have determined they are not to be feared. They are just like us."_

Agent Graham stepped back and Chase stepped up to the microphones.  _"Hi. I'm Chase. This is my brother Adam, and my sister Bree."_  He introduced them.  _"And yes, we are bionic superhumans. For years, we've been going on top secret missions-"_

" _Yeah, you remember that runaway train full of nucloneum that almost blew up Welkerville?"_  Adam interrupted Chase.  _"That was us."_

"Idiot." I muttered to myself. There were horrified gasps from the reporters at the press conference. Chase was quick to fix his brother's mistake though.

" _No, no, no. We didn't cause it, we stopped it."_  He assured the crowd. He stepped back to let Bree speak and gave Adam a stern glare.

" _You didn't know about these missions because we weren't sure if the world was ready to accept us."_  Bree said.  _"But now that our secret's out-"_

_ Adam pushed Bree to the side. "Let's get to know me. I enjoy long walks on the beach, easting stuff, and punching this guy." To demonstrate, he punched Chase _  in the chest.

Chase hit Adam and glared at him.  _"Why do you always do that?"_

" _Were you not listening? It's what I like to do!"_  Adam replied. Chase punched him again, then both boys started attacking each other. Agent Graham tried to intervene, but couldn't stop them as they fought all over the stage. In the midst of their fight, they managed to break the sign behind them and rip the curtains.

"No, no, no." "Stop it." Leo and I begged, although we were both aware that they couldn't hear us. Those idiots! Did they not realize that they were on live TV?

Bree quickly stepped in front of the microphones, trying to distract the audience and viewers from the disaster behind her.  _"So, any questions?"_  she asked, struggling to be heard over her brothers' fighting.

Tasha quickly turned off the TV. I looked at Leo. "You have to admit, it could have gone a lot worse."

He nodded his agreement, a smirk on his face. Perry sighed suddenly.

"Enough of this junk. Let's see if there's a romantic comedy on, like maybe something about a rugged bad boy inventor," She looked at Douglas while we all had weirded out looks on our faces, "and his suburban ginger haired princess with legs that just won't quit."

She raised her leg onto Douglas' lap, while the rest of us tried to look away. Douglas moved the leg off of his, then looked at us for help.

"Why don't I just give you the remote?" Tasha questioned, holding it out to Perry. She got up and took it from her.

"It's about time." She muttered. Tasha walked over to the other side of the couch.

"Good luck with that, Dougy." She said to Douglas as she sat down next to me. Leo turned to our principal.

"Principal Perry, I just wanted to say thanks for looking out for Calla and I." He told her. I nodded.

"Yeah, thanks. Good to know you care." I agreed. She smiled.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll admit that I care about you two a little bit." She said. She held her hand out. "Put it there."

Leo took her hand to shake it and an audible crack could be heard. Perry cried out in pain, and Leo's eyes widened.

"Not that hand!" Douglas exclaimed. Leo let go and Perry clutched her definitely broken hand in pain. Tasha looked at us with wide eyes.

"Did someone give my son bionics?" she demanded. Douglas panicked.

"I can explain. But," he pushed Leo towards his mom, "it'd be better coming from him."

He ran from the room, while Tasha grabbed Leo's arm to look it over.

** Chase's POV **

We looked around at all the wreckage around us. "Well, that went well." Mr. Davenport smiled, tossing the branch of a fake tree to the ground. He actually didn't seem as upset about the fight as I thought he would. He looked at us. "Alright guys, get ready. As soon as you walk out that door, your lives are going to chance forever. It's about time you guys get credit for all the good that you do."

We all smiled at him. "Thank you Mr. Davenport, but we'll always be a four person team." I promised him.

He smiled back at me, then turned to face Agent Graham, who had just walked in. "Agent Graham, I just wanted to thank you for letting the kids come home and hearing us out."

Agent Graham nodded. "Actually, I should be the one that should be thanking you. Without you, we wouldn't be in control of the ultimate weapon."

Mr. Davenport frowned. "We? What do you mean we?"

"You're not in charge of these three anymore. This is my show now." Agent Graham replied. "From this point forward, they work for me."

We all stared at him as he walked away. Work for him? It suddenly hit me just how correct Mr. Davenport was when he told us that our lives were going to change forever.

** S-1's POV **

Prison sucked. It really, really sucked. I looked at Mr. Krane, angry.

"What are we going to do?" I demanded. He crossed his arms and for some reason, looked perfectly comfortable.

"Not to worry." He assured me. "We may be in prison, but our power runs far beyond this little cage."

I stared at him, not understanding. "Your bionic brothers and sisters will make sure of it. Rise, my bionic soldiers. Rise."

My mind instantly flashed to all the other bionic soldiers that also worked for Mr. Krane. I smirked. This was going to be fun.


	19. Never Normal Again

** Calla's POV **

"I can't believe our moms are actually making us do this." Leo complained, staring up at the school. Because of everything that had happened, the five of us had opted to stay out of the public eye. Which also meant staying away from school. Adam, Bree, and Chase still weren't going to school yet. I think Davenport wanted to keep them away as long as possible for things to die down, but I wasn't sure how much longer he could wait. Everyone was getting pretty bored and I didn't blame them. I'd go crazy if I was stuck in my basement for a couple of weeks.

As for Leo and I, this was our first day back. Leo didn't want to go at all and he'd already made that abundantly clear to me. I practically had to drag him here from his house to stop him from running off. I didn't understand why he was in such a bad mood. I, for one, missed going to school. I was probably falling behind in my classes already and besides, I wanted to go chat with my friends Jessica and Kaitlin. I hadn't seen either of them since before the video went viral.

"Hey, maybe it won't be that bad." I offered optimistically. He gave me a look.

"You maybe. I mean, how many people even know that you work for Big D?" He questioned. I shrugged, unsure of the number. "But I'm related to Adam, Breen and Chase, and they all know that!"

"Come on, Leo." I sighed. "It'll be fine."

He nodded, re-adjusted his backpack, and walked up the stairs to the school. I followed shortly behind him.

The school hallway was full of students and a couple of teachers. Most kids were still half-asleep, but there were a number of them talking animatedly about their weekends and the new school semester starting in a couple of weeks. It was as normal a Monday as we could have hoped for.

I immediately spotted Kaitlin and Jessica chatting in a corner. Judging by the way Kaitlin's hands were moving, she was excited about something. I grinned and jogged over to them. "Morning." I greeted.

Kaitlin stopped midsentence and turned to look at me. My smile fell slightly at the hard stare she gave me. "Oh, hey Calla." She greeted, her tone cold. I blinked in surprise; that wasn't the welcome back I expected.

"Everything alright?" I asked, confused. She looked back at me.

"Um, that depends. Is Chase around?" She asked. I shook my head, still frowning.

"No. He's at home. Why?" I questioned. She let out a relieved sigh.

"It's just…you know what he is, right?" She questioned. I sighed.

"Yes, I know that he's bionic. What's the big deal?" I asked. Jessica gaped at me.

"Big deal? Your boyfriend is half robot!" She exclaimed. I stared at her.

"Okay, bionic does not equal robot. Why does everyone think they're robots?" I questioned. Seriously, the robot thing was getting old! "And you know that your boyfriend is bionic too, right?"

"Um…" Jessica trailed off. I looked at her, concerned.

"You and Adam are still a couple, right?" I asked, eyes wide. She shrugged.

"I don't know." She mumbled.

"Jessica!" I snapped. "You'd seriously break up with a guy because he's bionic? Excuse me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure superpowers are a good thing, not a bad one."

She gave me a hard look. "What about lying, then?" She demanded. "All those times Adam 'had to go to the dentist' or 'was sick' he was really going on those top secret missions."

I sighed. "He wasn't allowed to tell you the truth. It wasn't like he was trying to hurt you or anything. If anything, he kept it a secret to protect you."

"How does that work?" Kaitlin questioned. I glanced at her.

"They told me the truth a while ago." I omitted Jaden's name on purpose. The less people thought he knew, the better. "And since then, I've been kidnapped and nearly killed on many occasions. Trust me when I tell you that it was better than you didn't know."

"Well, it's not really that he lied to me." Jessica told me. "It's the fact that I believed him every single time."

"So?" I questioned. Jessica sighed.

"Look, every time he lied to me, he had me believing him completely. How am I supposed to be able to tell if he's lying to me in the future?" I opened my mouth to try and defend him, but she didn't give me the chance. "Look, I'm just not sure if things are going to work out between us."

I sighed in defeat. "Alright, I guess it's none of my business anyway. But Jess? I think you should at least try and talk things out with him. Adam really does care about you."

She shrugged. Kaitlin looked at me then. "Speaking of lies, how many have you told us?"

I frowned, confused. "What do you mean?" She gave me a look. "Whoa, I'm not bionic, if that's what you're asking."

"Yeah, but you had to lie to us to keep their secret, right?" She questioned. "And what about all those times you skipped class with them and told us that it was because of some stomach bug?"

"Kaitlin…" I started to say, but then the bell rang. Kaitlin sighed.

"Whatever. Bye Calla." She told me, walking away. Jessica gave me an apologetic look, but ran off after her, leaving me standing all by myself.

** Xxx **

"So, how's your day going so far?" I grumbled to Leo as I slumped down in the seat next to him. I'd only been through half my classes, yet I was already considering skipping the rest of the day.

Kaitlin and Jessica had only been the first of bad reactions to the bionic news. Most kids seemed either scared or disturbed at the thought of bionic superhumans. There were a few kids that thought they were cool, but not many. Even the teachers had given me weird looks when I had asked for Adam, Bree, and Chase's homework to bring them.

"Everyone kept staring at me during gym class because they thought I was about to start flying or shooting lasers from my eyes." Leo replied, poking at his mystery meat sandwich. "And none of my friends are talking to me."

"Not even Janelle?" I asked sympathetically. Janelle had never liked being around Davenport's technology (something about her always getting hurt) and I figured that finding out that her boyfriend's family was bionic wouldn't exactly raise her opinion of him.

Leo shrugged. "She's not at school today, so I don't know." He replied. Suddenly, something behind me caught his eye. "Cheating ex, twelve o'clock." He hissed at me, trying to give me a warning.

I sighed irritably as Caleb Jones sat down beside me. He smiled at me. "Hey Calla. Glad to see you back at school."

"What do you want, Caleb?" I questioned, trying to keep my tone flat. He opened his mouth to reply, but stopped himself when he saw the glare Leo was giving him.

"Leo, can I, uh, have a moment alone with Calla?" He asked hesitantly. Leo crossed his arms and didn't move. Caleb gave me a pleading look and I sighed. He wasn't going to give in.

"Leo." I said simply. He looked at me and I jerked my head towards another table. It was far enough that he wouldn't be able to eavesdrop, but close enough for him to see if I was losing my temper. He glanced at Caleb, but did as I asked. "Alright Caleb," I sighed once we were alone. "This had better be good."

"I heard you were in the hospital. Are you alright?" His tone was laced with concern. I nodded.

"I'm fine, but my concussion isn't what you came over here to talk about, is it?" I questioned. He sighed and shook his head.

"No, I…well, I came here to apologize." He admitted, much to my amusement. "I screwed up, Calla. I know that."

"Haven't you given me that line before? Because I'm getting a distinct sense of déjà-vu." I commented, taking a drink from my bottle of water.

"This is different." Caleb objected. I rolled my eyes.

"How?" I asked, deciding to humour him. He sighed.

"I'm not looking to try and be your boyfriend. You deserve better than me." He told me. I nodded.

"Oh, I deserve a whole lot better than you." I agreed, not caring how that made me sound. He nodded.

"I know. And Chase, well he's a lucky guy." He sighed. "What I'm trying to say is, I'm glad you have someone who treats you so well. You deserve to be happy."

I hesitated before responding. This was not how I expected this conversation to go. "I…thank you, Caleb." I replied after a long moment. He nodded.

"As for me, I was hoping we could be friends." He continued, flashing me a hopeful smile. "Nothing more; I wouldn't dare take advantage of you a third time."

"Yeah, you're not THAT stupid." I agreed, causing him to chuckle. I sighed. "Why are you doing this, Caleb? Why now?"

He gave me a soft smile. "After everything crazy that's been happening, I figured you would need something normal in your life. Someone that's not connected to all this bionic stuff."

I looked at him, studying him. "You really just want to be friends?" I asked skeptically. He nodded.

"I care about you, Calla. And even if I can't be your boyfriend, I still want to be part of your life." Caleb had hurt me in the past. Really hurt me. But the way he smiled, the way he sounded so sincere…

"I'll think about it, okay?" I looked at him. He nodded.

"That's all I'm asking for." He replied, standing up. "I'll see you around, Calla."

"Yeah, you too." I replied, watching as he walked away. In a matter of seconds, Leo was back in his seat and looking at me.

"You okay? Was he badmouthing Chase or trying to flirt with you?" He inquired suspiciously. I shook my head.

"No." I replied after a moment. Leo frowned.

"Then what did he want?" He asked, confused. I looked back at my lunch, smiling.

"I THINK he was actually trying to be a good friend." I replied. Leo made a face.

"You're not actually going to be friends with him, right?" He asked. I shrugged.

"Probably not." I replied, the conversation repeating itself in my head.

** Bree's POV **

"Hey Leo, how school?" I asked as my step-brother walked in through the front door. He gave me a look that told me it didn't go well.

"Let's see. My girlfriend didn't show up, I failed my history test, and people kept staring at me. It's like they thought I was bionic." He complained. Adam looked at him.

"But you are bionic." He pointed out. Leo rolled his eyes.

"Yes, but they don't know that. Oh, but on the upside, Trent is too scared of you guys to mess with me." He replied, grinning. Chase smirked, then looked at the door as if he expected it to open.

"Hey, where's Calla?" He asked, confused. I rolled my eyes. He'd been so annoying today, the way he'd been texting Calla every second between classes. I know that he was bored and missing her, but seriously Chase, let the girl breathe!

"She left early because she had to do something. She wouldn't tell me what." Leo replied. "Oh, and don't ask how her day was. She'll bite your head off."

"That bad?" Chase guessed. Leo nodded.

"Apparently, Kaitlin and Jessica are pissed – by the way Adam, you might want to talk to your girlfriend and soon – then someone stole her physics text book." He replied with a shrug. He looked at Chase. "Oh, and Caleb was bothering her at lunch."

My eyes narrowed. "Lovely, yet another stupid guy trying to ruin a girl's life." I muttered. Leo looked at me, then at Adam and Chase.

"Okay, what's her problem?" He asked, confused. Chase smirked.

"She's just upset because Jaden hasn't texted her since the video went out." Adam replied. I sighed in frustration.

"Well, Mr. Davenport won't let me go visit him using the geo-leaping bracelet and I just don't understand why he's ignoring me!" I exclaimed, throwing my hands up in frustration. Suddenly, the door bell rang. I walked around the counter and stormed over to the front door to open it.

"Maybe Jaden found a new girlfriend." Adam suggested. I stopped, my hand on the doorknob, and turned to look at him. I wasn't the only one – Leo and Chase were both looking at him, stunned. "What? I hear Australian girls are extremely hot."

"You know what? Jaden's probably off being some stupid idiot." I replied. I threw open the front door, turned to see who was there and…I froze.

I was greeted by amused blue eyes, half hidden under a mop of brown hair, and an easygoing smirk. The boy in front of me laughed at my stunned expression.

"Well?" He asked after a moment. "Are you going to let this stupid idiot in, or am I going to be standing here all day?"

I blinked once. Then I blinked again. Then…

"JADEN!" I screamed, tackling the older boy in a hug. He laughed, lifting me off my feet and spinning me in a circle as his lips crashed into mine. I could hear the others, chuckling and teasing me in the background, but I didn't care.

"But I thought…you were in Australia…" I breathed as he pulled away. He smirked and brushed a strand of hair behind my ear.

"I came back for you." He murmured. A voice cleared from behind him and he quickly added, "And my lovely sister."

He stopped, then looked at Calla, who was standing behind him. "Actually, cancel that. I came back for Bree." He told her. She rolled her eyes and pushed past us.

"Jerk." She muttered, walking into the house. Jaden grinned.

"She says that now. Wait until she sees what I got her from Sydney." He whispered to me. I looked at him.

"What did you get her?" I asked. His smirk grew.

"A plastic spider the size of a dinner plate." He replied. I laughed, entwining my hand with his.

"You really came back for me?" I asked, smiling at him. He nodded.

"I saw the video online and well…I knew that I had to be here for you." He told me. "Are you guys okay?"

"I am now." I leaned forward to kiss him again, this time not rushing the kiss as much. "So, are you here to stay? For good?"

"I'll stay as long as you want me to." He replied. He walked into the house, still holding my hand. "So, you guys miss me, or what?"

"Depends, are you going to be making out with my sister twenty-four seven?" Adam questioned. Jaden looked like he was about to answer, but Calla didn't give him the chance.

"Come on guys, let's give the love birds some privacy." She instructed, starting to usher everyone else towards the lab doors. "Besides, my work load has been doubled since the viral video and I'm going to need some help."

Jaden watched them go with a confused smile. "Calla's admitting that she needs help? That's not normal." He commented. I sighed.

"Really Jaden, I don't think that things are ever going to be normal again." I murmured, kissing him on the cheek.


	20. Ice Bucket Challenge

**Calla's POV**

"Hey Calla! Did you hear about the bionic fan clubs around the school?" Leo questioned, jogging up to me as I reached my locker. I nodded as I started pulling my books and laptop out.

"Yeah, it seems they've really changed their opinions on Adam, Bree, and Chase. Mr. Davenport's going to like that." I replied as I shut my locker door. We started towards the school doors, ready to head home.

"I guess all that damage control you've been doing is paying off." He pointed out. I nodded and was about to joke that Mr. Davenport should be paying me extra for all the overtime I've been doing lately when I was interrupted.

"Hey! Parker!" I stopped in the middle of the hall, hearing the sound of my last name, not daring to turn around. Seriously? I did NOT need to deal with HER today! Leo turned and grinned at the girl behind me.

"Hello Skylar." He flashed her a grin. "What's cooking, good-looking?"

I sent him a glare, then turned on my heel to face the blonde witch. "Skylar!" I exclaimed in fake enthusiasm. "How are you?"

"Wonderful. How's our bionic boy?" She asked, eyes flashing. I smiled.

"My boyfriend's just fine, thank you." I replied, forcing the cheerfulness into my voice. Normally, I could tolerate life's annoyances and the drama queens with a lot of patience. But the stress from work and the media was building up and I had no patience to deal with Skylar today.

"Chase is bionic." Skylar stated, smiling. "I mean, he was cute before, but now he's…whoa."

"Yeah, I know. But I'll pass on the compliment." I replied. Skylar frowned.

"So is that why you're into him? Because he's bionic? I mean, you obviously knew about it when you started dating. Are you only into him because of the bionics?" She questioned.

"I couldn't care less if he was bionic or not." I replied coolly. "It doesn't matter to me."

Skylar glared at me, clearly having expected me to lose my temper and start an argument with her in the hall. But I wasn't planning on giving her the satisfaction. "You know, I think I finally figured out why Chase agreed to go out with you."

"Enlighten me." I said, rolling my eyes. Her smirk grew.

"Well, you found out about their little secret. Obviously, he only started dating you to make you kept your big mouth shut." She stated. I nearly laughed.

"Uh yeah, sure. That's TOTALLY it." I agreed sarcastically. Skylar's smirk didn't fade.

"You see. Now that the entire world knows, he doesn't have to put up with your stupid crap anymore, you idiotic little fangirl." She commented. I stared at her, all my patience dissipating instantly.

"Did she just call you a…" Leo trailed off, backing up slightly, eyes wide with fear.

"Idiotic little fangirl?" I repeated, staring at her. "Um, who was the one who started a Chase Davenport Fan Club?"

"They're celebrities now. They ALL have fan clubs!" Skylar argued. I glared at her.

"Stay away from my boyfriend, you little b-" I started to shout, only to be cut off my Caleb.

"Ladies, ladies. You're both pretty." He assured us, stepping in between us. We both ignored him, glaring at each other. He lowered his voice. "And you're both causing a scene too."

I glanced behind me. My and Skylar's rivalry was pretty well known around the school, so many of the students had stopped to see what was going on. I took a deep breath and forced a smile back on my face.

"You know what? This isn't worth it. Goodbye Skylar." I hissed through clenched teeth before pushing past some of the students to head home. I could hear a pair of footsteps following close behind.

"You don't have to follow me home, Leo." I teased, turning around. But it wasn't Leo following, it was Caleb. "Oh, sorry. I thought you were Leo." I apologized. He gave me a look.

"Oh come on! I'm not that short, am I?" He asked, a smirk on his face. I rolled my eyes.

"Not quite, but it's pretty close." I replied. I shoved my hands in my pockets as we walked down my street. "So, why are you following me? Don't tell me you've stalking as a hobby."

Caleb grinned. "No, but I did want to make sure you were alright."

I rolled my eyes. "Please Caleb. Skylar's not that bad. Just lost my temper a bit."

"You sound stressed." He pointed out. I sighed.

"I've been doing some overtime with Davenport. But it's nothing I can't handle. It's barely even work anyway." I assured him. He nodded.

"Okay, if it's really not that bad, are you free tonight?" He asked. I turned to him, eyes wide. He quickly fixed his mistake. "It's not what you think, I swear!"

"What's up?" I asked suspiciously. He sighed.

"Calculus. I'm kinda falling behind." He admitted. I smirked.

"Yeah, numbers aren't your strong point, are they?" I teased lightly. He shrugged.

"No, I'll admit it. Calculus is my kryptonite." He sighed. "And since you're top of the class, aside from Chase of course, I was wondering if you would tutor me?" He looked at me hopefully. "If it's too weird, I won't be offended if you say no. But if you can't, do you know anyone that might."

I thought about it. "Um, I'm seriously busy at work, but I'm free at lunch." I offered. He grinned. "But would you mind if I invite Leo too? He won't admit that he's having trouble, but I've seen his grades. And I doubt his mom's going to be too pleased with him if his report card has a big fat C- on it."

Caleb chuckled. "Yeah, I don't think so either." He agreed. "Sure, I don't mind if Leo's there. The more the merrier."

I smiled back and was about to ask him if he understood the homework when my phone let out a little beep. Caleb frowned. "You got a new text alert?" He questioned. I shook my head.

"No, that's my Facebook. Someone must have tagged me in a post." I replied. I quickly checked my phone and stared at the post. "Really Jaden? Really?"

**Chase's POV**

"Hey Leo, how was school?" I greeted as my step-brother walked through the lab doors. He smirked.

"Oh, my day was great. Calla on the other hand…she may not be in the best of moods right now. Good luck." He told me, sliding behind his desk just as my girlfriend walked in. Leo was right – Calla was clearly upset about something. But I had no idea what. Nor did I have any clue as to why her hair was wet, as if she had just gone for a swim.

"What happened?" I questioned as she pushed past me to access the equipment room. She came out a second later with a towel in her hands, then sat down in her chair.

"Do you mean what happened at school or what happened to my hair?" She questioned, starting to dry it off.

"Both, but start with the hair. That seems like it might be more entertaining." I replied. She rolled her eyes.

"Not really. Jaden nominated me for the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. God, it was freezing." She explained. I smirked.

"Oh come on, it can't be THAT bad." I offered. She gave me a devious look.

"You say that now." She muttered. I raised an eyebrow and she smirked. "I nominated the three of you."

"You did?" Bree questioned, having been eavesdropping. Calla nodded, dropping the towel into her lap and turning to her computer.

"Yeah. Mr. Davenport, Douglas and Agent Graham," Her tone made it clear that she did not like the man, "have gotten me on damage control for the whole secret thing and doing something like that for a good cause could be good publicity. I've been setting up interviews, releasing old mission reports to the press, and trying to shut down all of those stupid rumours that people have been posting on the internet." She explained. Bree frowned.

"What rumours?" She asked curiously.

Calla looked at the webpage in front of her, then turned around to face us. "For example some idiot named ADMRLZ has convinced over a hundred people that you guys will actually grow wings if you drink Red Bull. I mean, what kind of idiot would say something like that?"

The grin on Adam's face gave us our answer. "You've got to be kidding me!" Calla complained, glaring at him. "Do you have any idea how long it's going to take me to convince the imbeciles that fell for it that you're lying? Adam, you probably just gave me another hour and a half of overtime!"

"You've been doing a lot of overtime lately." I pointed out, trying to change the subject before she killed Adam. Calla shrugged, turning eyes back on her screen as she typed.

"Yeah well, there was a lot of backlash after the video and someone's got to turn that hatred into adoration. Besides, it's not as if I've got anything better to do." She replied. I smiled sympathetically at her.

"Jessica and Kaitlin still not talking to you?" I guessed. She shook her head.

"Both of them are still pretty pissed off that I lied to them. And since Rebeccka's gone to Boston on that school trip, the only one of my friends still talking to me, aside from you guys, is Caleb."

I nodded, trying not to tense at his name. When she told me that she was starting to hang out with him again, I admit that I didn't like it. But Calla had assured me that he hadn't tried anything stupid yet, like try to ask her out again, and that he was actually being nice.

"Oh, speaking of Caleb!" Calla said suddenly. "He asked me to tutor him in calculus."

"He did?" I asked, trying to not show how opposed I was to the fact that he and Calla were going to be alone together. Calla nodded.

"Yeah. So Leo, you're going to be joining Caleb and I in the library at lunch tomorrow." She continued. Leo looked like he was about to object, but she didn't give him the chance. "I'll pay you five bucks. I just don't want to be stuck there alone with him in case he tries something."

"Make it ten, and it's a deal." Leo bargained. Calla sighed and pulled out her wallet. She pulled out a green bill.

"Anyone got change for a twenty?" she asked, looking around. Leo just plucked the money out of her hands and pocketed it.

"A pleasure doing business with you." He told her before sitting back down. She rolled her eyes at him.

"So, is that everything that happened? Just your friends not talking to you and Caleb asking for tutoring?" I asked, a little confused. Leo had made it seem like something had really upset her. Calla sighed in annoyance.

"No, Skylar decided to open her big mouth." She growled. I sighed.

"Alright, what happened? And please tell me that her body's not going to be found in a dumpster tomorrow morning or something." I said. Calla gave me a look.

"Please, as if I would be stupid enough to throw it in a dumpster. The ocean's a way better choice." She commented with a shrug. "And she decided to pull the 'Chase is only dating you because he thinks he has to' card. Then she called me a stupid little fangirl which makes her a total hypocrite because she's president of your fan club."

"I have a fan club?" I questioned, staring at her. Calla shook her head at me.

"Did you hear anything else I said?" She questioned. I nodded.

"Yeah, of course. Skylar's being a terrible person, I get it. But I have a fan club?" I asked again, grinning. I'd never had a fan club before. Cool.

"You all do." Calla sighed. Then she jumped to her feet. "Okay, you know what? I've been stuck in this lab too much lately and so have you guys."

She grabbed my hand and started pulling me towards the door. "Where are we going?" I questioned, confused. She grinned.

"The backyard. Leo! Grab some buckets!"

**Calla's POV**

"I can't believe you're not letting us change into our bathing suits first." Bree muttered as she walked into the yard.

"Well, I suppose-" I began only to be cut off by Jaden, who was helping Adam and Leo carry the mop buckets filed with ice water.

"Come on Bree! It's not that bad!" He assured her. She looked at him.

"You just want to see me in a wet T-shirt." She accused. Jaden chuckled.

"I'm not even going to deny that." He replied. I rolled my eyes, then held up the camera and pointed it everyone.

"You guys ready?" I asked, pressing record. Chase smiled.

"Yep." He agreed. He looked at his siblings. "So, who goes first?"

"Oldest to youngest." Leo decided. "And remember the nominations!"

"Right." Chase agreed. He turned to the camera and I gave him a thumbs up to show that it was recording. "Alright guys. I'm Chase Davenport and these are my siblings Adam and Bree."

"We were nominated for the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge by Calla Parker." Bree continued. Adam nodded.

"Yeah, and we're going to nominate Calladora, GirlsRuleEverAfter, and The Epic Cheese Strike Force." He announced.

"Adam, you're first." I told him. He nodded, looked down at the bucket of icy water in his hands, then in one quick motion, spilled all the water on his head.

"Cold! That's cold!" He exclaimed, jumping a little bit. Leo smirked.

"Bree, you're next!" He called. Bree looked at him.

"Okay, where's my bucket?" She asked. I smirked as I saw Jaden walking up behind her, the bucket in his hands.

"Right here, beautiful." He said before dumping all of it on her head. Bree let out a screech and tensed her shoulders as he drenched her in the water.

"Oh my God! Oh my god!" She screeched, shivering. I smiled and handed the camera to Leo. Chase gave me a look.

"You're not really going to…oh who am I kidding?" He muttered as I walked towards him with the bucket. I just smiled.

"Enjoy." I teased before turning the bucket over his head. Ice cubes and water gushed out of it, resulting in a very wet, very cold Chase.

"Okay, Adam is definitely right about it being cold! Gah!" He shuddered. I laughed and turned towards the camera.

"Don't forget to donate!" I called before having Leo turn the camera off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Davenport siblings, Calla, and Leo will return in The Lab Assistant: World Famous.


End file.
